With A Side Of Blood: Sequel To Bloody Brilliant
by VampireKissesxoxoxo
Summary: Celeste Sterling, daughter of Alexander and Raven, is the only vampire teenager that can survive the sun's deadly rays. Add Trevor's son Vladimir, a boy who desperately loves her, and another boy with a threatening secret. SEQUEL TO "BLOODY BRILLIANT"
1. Chapter 1

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter One**

Cristian Costellano grinned from the row behind me in history class. Mouthing, "I want you so bad," he shot me a very obvious - not to mention obnoxious - wink. He must think he's acting sexy, but he's really quite a nuisance.

"Miss Sterling!"

I turned my attention back to Ms. Baggoti, trying my best to look as innocent as a person looking behind them during a test could. She scowled at me, and I instantly gave up on being innocuous.

"Are you looking at Mister Costellano's paper?" she growled.

For a human teacher, she was scary enough to make Lil Wayne piss his pants. I looked down, my face turning as red as my lipstick.

"No, Ms. Baggoti," I replied softly.

Ms. Baggoti cackled, "Right." Swiftly, she picked up my half-finished test and ripped it in half. I squeezed my eyes tightly together, trying my best not to cry. Dad and Mom will be very disappointed to hear about another zero.

Cristian's voice broke the tension. "Excuse me, Ms. Baggoti? Celeste wasn't copying my answers. I was copying hers, and she was just glaring at me. Don't blame her, it's not her fault."

Ms. Baggoti - plus most of Cristian's friends - looked at him in awe. He'd never defended anybody before. This was certainly going to be interesting.

"Is that right, Miss Sterling?" Ms. Baggoti asked, her eyes still widened from shock. "If so, I'll have to give you more time to write a new test."

My lips quivered as I whispered, "Yes, Ms. Baggoti."

With a flourish, she brandished a brand-new test from her desk. "Restart, then. As for you, Mister Costellano, I'm afraid I'll have to give you a zero _and _a detention."  
Why would Cristian Costellano, the rich-bitch of the school, lie for me? I am certainly not his friend, nor his enemy. I don't even know what I am, honestly.

I, Celeste Sterling, am a one-of-a-kind vampire child. Born at the stroke of one A.M. to Raven and Alexander Sterling, I have always been different, starting from my incredible dislike of the darkness. But that's not the only reason I'm different. I'm the only vampire to ever walk in the daylight.

You see, my mother, before becoming forever tied to my father, was a human. Therefore, human blood traces around my body, making me immune to the sun's deadly rays that otherwise kill the bloodsuckers of the Earth.

Strange, really.

When the bell rang, signalling lunch (or rather, dinner, since it was about midnight), I nearly ran out of class to avoid talking to Cristian. But Cristian is a fast vampire, and he managed to find me among the bustling hallway.

"Celeste!" he called. "Celeste!"

If I ignored him, he would continue calling me, and soon grasp his on-and-off girlfriend's attention. Delia Cezario does not like it when her on-and-off boyfriend calls out other girls' names, whether they're in bed or in school.

Grudgingly, I walked up to him. He smiling, showing off his obnoxiously-perfect white teeth (his father is obsessed with dentistry).

"Hello, Celeste," he said, in a tone homage to Hannibal Lecter. "How are you on this fine night?"

"What is it, Cristian? I really don't have the time for _un_witty banter," I replied, crossing my arms over my chest. "What is it? Did my father call your father again or something?"

Cristian's father Sebastian is apparently my dad's friend. They talk often, and they once invited the Costellanos over for dinner. That same night, I had snuck out to see a bandslam with my friend, and thankfully missed the entire affair.

"Of course not," Cristian answered. "I was wondering if you'd like to sit with me in the cafeteria."

I laughed. Harshly and cruelly, I laughed. Cristian was obviously up to something. Why else would he invited me to the very-exclusive Vampopulars table? To show everybody that he could fool the daylight-walking vampire? To pull a _Carrie_ and douse me in blood? (Wait, that one wouldn't be so bad.)

"No," I refused.

Cristian raised his eyebrows. "Really? What if I told you that if you sat with me for the rest of the year, I'll keep Mitchell from stalking you?"

By "Mitchell", he meant Vladimir Mitchell, son of famous soccer player Trevor Mitchell. The Mitchells had moved to Romania a few months ago and Vladimir soon began courting me. Even though the idea of a boy hopelessly in love with me was romantic, I didn't like it one bit, especially since he'd snuck into my room two nights ago to grab a picture of me.

"Deal," I said. What was I supposed to do? Let Vladimir stalk me to the point of getting raped? Or simply sit there while the Vampopulars chatter about bloody nuisances?


	2. Chapter 2

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Two**

(**A/N**: Sebastian's last name will not be Camden in this story, mainly because I really like the idea of maintaining Sebastian and Alexander's friendship, but I will not entirely use the whole character. Yes, I know that's screwed up of me, and I apologize. And yeah, I fucked up on the whole last name thingy. I'll try to fix that. For now, here's the second chapter.

P.S. My strange bat paragraph thingy is back! I missed typing that strange creature.)

The impossible has happened. I am sitting in between Cristian and his best friend, Vivacus Balin, at the Vampopulars table. Even more so, Octavia Balin and Delia Cezario are trying to make small talk with me.

Remind me why I'm here again.

"I think you should dye your hair the colour of raspberries," gushed Octavia. "It would match your freespiritedness, shows a lot of people that you're a rebellious force."

Is that a compliment, or shall I bash her face in? If it's a compliment, I can still bash her face in, right?

Delia agreed, adding, "Maybe add a demi-permanent streak of royal blue. That would really make your eyes _pop_."

But I have brown eyes...

From beside me, Cristian snickered. "Isn't this _fun_?" he mock-gushed into my ear. "And see, I told you I'd keep Mitchell away."

I turned my head away from Cristian to look at Vladimir, who sat lonely at my usual table, staring straight at me with his dark blue eyes. For a second, I felt bad about my unwanted lover/stalker. But then again, he did once try to sneak in while I was showering...

Vivacus, the vampire Adonis I secretly liked, tapped me on the shoulder. "Who are you?" he asked.

Blushing, I replied, "Celeste."

"_Sterling_?" Vivacus was amazed. So was I (he knew who I was!). "Wow. I finally get to see you in the flesh. Costellano's been talking about you for a while." He smirked at Cristian, who raised his middle finger and told him where to shove it.

"_Anyways_," Cristian said, "what's the deal with you being able to be in sunlight? People have said that you ate a human heart or got human skin stitched over your vampire flesh, but what _really_ happened?"

I was aware that the rest of the group was listening in on us. Swallowing hard, I replied, "My mother was human, and my father turned her. Then they had sex and got me."

Cristian grinned. "Interesting. That's a one-of-a-kind case, then, eh?"

Yes. And I am getting sick of people saying one-of-a-kind. Seriously. It one-of-a SUCKS. If somebody tells me that I'm one-of-a-kind again, I'm going to give them one up the butt. And no, not like that.

Delia giggled, but she was focusing on Cristian. "Isn't that interesting," she stated, her Black Diva glossed lips formed into a semi-sweet smile. "Not exactly impressive, but good enough to be acknowledged."

Can I bash _her_ head in?

**^o^**

I walked around Romania, the sunlight soaking in my unaffected pores. While Vladimir, Cristian, Delia, Vivacus (insert major sigh here), and the others slept, I walked around, free of having to worry about my physical appearance toward others. Who would I try to impress in the morning?

"Free, free, free," I sang, skipping past an ice cream parlour. "Free, free, free-"

I smacked my head against something, and fell down on my butt. I pressed my fingers to my forehead, and when I pulled them back there was a tiny bit of blood on them. I pressed my fingers against my nose, before my vision went red.

This is not my blood.

I looked up at what I had smacked into. A boy, dressed in dark clothing with headphones covering his ears, stared down at me. He was, surprisingly, incredibly handsomer (if handsomer was a word) than even Vivacus.

"Need help?" he asked softly, despite the blasting emo rock music that roared out of his headphones. He extended a hand to me and I took it gratefully. When I was vertical again, he grinned.

"Do you always skip into people?" he teased, a playful smile on his dark red lips.

"Only on Saturdays," I said sheepishly. "I haven't seen you around here before. I'm Celeste."

The boy's grin widened, revealing perfect, better-than-Cristian's-my-daddy-is-a-dentist-teeth teeth. "I'm Dimitri Bavard. It's a pleasure to meet you."

I looked him over. His black jeans, covered with safety pins, staples, and chains, fit him tightly. His messy hair that went from light blue on the tip to dark blue on the roots. His torso-hugging, muscle-exposing V-neck, with The Rolling Stones logo on it, except the tongue had a piercing in it.

I also noticed the slight blood seeping through the very end of the V-neck. No wonder my vision went red. I'd hit him hard enough to draw blood.

Dimitri noticed the blood as well. He wiped it off with his Sharpie-painted fingernails.

"So," he said, "I moved here a week ago, from Vermont."

"Vermont?" I have never met anybody (human or vampire) who had once lived in Vermont. Or Washington, for that matter. Or any other place other than Romania.

"Yeah." He shrugged. "Not a big deal. So, where're you headed?"

"Anywhere." I blushed. "What about you? You gonna stand on the sidewalk listening to The Klaxons, or are you going to come with me?"

Whoever is controlling my mouth, please stop. I didn't just invite a complete stranger to hang out with me, right?

Dimitri smirked. "Yeah, I'll come with you."


	3. Chapter 3

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Three**

Dimitri turned out to be an excellent talker and equally good listener, despite the absence of the Romanian accent I'd grown accustomed to here. He told me all about his sister Florentine, his favorite music (Klaxons, Rolling Stones, Beatles, and any other good oldies you could think of), and his old life in Vermont.

He'd be a perfect boyfriend for me, even though he isn't a vampire. If he was, I wouldn't stand a chance with him, because Delia and Octavia and all of the other girls would go after him like rabbits after a bag of carrots.

I thought abut Dimitri as I sat on the edge of my bed. A perfect Saturday night, except now that it was night, the vampires of my school would be prowling around. But thankfully, Vladimir is nowhere in sight. Cristian is doing his part of the bargain.

I'm glad to be able to walk around in the daylight, so I don't bump into Vladimir or Cristian or anything. It's great to be one-of-a-kind, even if that elongated word pisses me off more than Cristian's winks.

A knock at the door startles me.

"Yes?" I called out.

My dad opens the door. "Hey, Celeste. Your mother and I are going to the movies for a bit. Do you mind being alone?"

I shook my head. Do I mind? Hell no. I _love _being alone. I guess the advantage of having youthful parents is that they still have a love of going out, so I get the house to myself a lot.

"No parties," Dad reminded me. Then he laughed. "Oh, I don't really care if you do. Just don't trash the house completely if you do."

See? Youthful parents, like mine, are _great_. Just so long as my mom doesn't dress in tight clothing and become all cougar-ish, I'm fine with this lifestyle.

When Dad left my room, I let out a big sigh. Finally. I could use some more alone time. I leaned my head against the glossy window.

_Thunk!_

I nearly jumped ten feet in the air at the sound. Where did it come from? Curiously, I turned my head towards the window.

Dimitri, with his luscious blue hair, waved.

"Gah!" I screeched, noticing for the first time that I was in my black camisole and booty shorts I wear for bed. Oh God, no. Dimitri can't be here while I'm wearing this. He'll think I'm a slut.

And why he is still awake at one A.M.? Bad Dimitri. Bad!

I opened my window cautiously and slowly, aware that if I leaned down in any way, I'd be showing him a tremendous amout of cleavage. And that is not good, especially if I'd just met him a few mere hours ago.

"What are you doing here?" I hissed, afraid that my parents were still here. They wouldn't like the idea of another boy courting me at night.

He laughed. "You told me that you wanted to hang out sometime. It's sometime." Dimitri ran his fingers through his blue hair. "Nice outfit," he added, grinning at me like Christian.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "Shut up," I snapped. I raked through my mind repeatedly to see when I'd told him I wanted to hang out sometime, and when I'd told him where I lived.

Dimitri shrugged. "So, now that I'm here, what do you want to do? Wrassle a few alligators? Climb some trees? Watch me freeze to death outside of your house?"

Funny. Really funny. I'm laughing my ass off here.

"Why don't you go to the front door like a normal person, and then I'll let you in." But only if my parents are gone, I added in my head.

"Whatever floats your boat." He disappeared from my view.

I tiptoed through the house hallway, feeling like a spy. I began humming the _Mission Impossible_ theme until I reached the front door.

"Mom? Dad?" I called out.

No answer. They probably already left. Thank goodness. I'm not in the mood to explain why Dimitri is here at one A.M.

I swung open the door. Dimitri slid right past me, his head held high. He looked taller than I remembered, and his blue hair was more vivid in person than in thought.

"Hey," he said coolly. "So, no parents? Why didn't you tell me?" He waggled his eyebrows, his eyes directed at my booty shorts.

I grabbed the first thing off the wooden coathanger by the door, which turned out to be my mother's long black coat. I fastened it around my body, Dimitri scowling at me as I did.

"That's just being cruel," he stated. "Dressing up like that and covering it up when I come in. You're such a little tease."

I rolled my eyes. "So, what did I say again?"

"You said, 'Let's hang out sometime'. Then you added your cell phone number and address into my phone." Dimitri grinned. "You work fast. I just hope you're not expecting nookie from me right now."

"Nookie?"

"Sex."

I rolled my eyes again. I swear to God, if I keep rolling my eyes, they will turn into my head and never come back out. "Just because I'm wearing tiny shorts and a lacy shirt doesn't mean that I want 'nookie' from you."

Dimitri scowled. "I take offense to that."

"If we're just going to talk about 'nookie' and stuff, maybe you should just go home," I offered. "I'm not in the mood. Why are you still up, anyways?"

Dimitri grinned. "I'm up because I can be," he said cryptically. "Okay, I'll drop the 'nookie' thing. I was just messing with you, anyways. By the way, do you know somebody named Cristian Costellano?"

My blood froze. "Yes," I answered quietly. "Why?"

Dimitri shrugged. "Just wondering." He averted my gaze. "Why don't we watch a movie or something?"  
"We have _Dracula_," I said proudly. "The Bela Lugosi version."

Dimitri was already sifting through the rows of DVDs on the bookshelves next to the TV. "Hmm..." He pulled out a _Buffy The Vampire Slayer_ season. "Let's watch this instead! Sarah Michelle Gellar's pretty fine, if you ask me."

"Before she went all _Scooby-Doo_," I added. "Yeah, why not?"

**^o^**

After Dimitri left, exclaiming that we should have a _Buffy _marathon together, I lay down on my bed. Most of his visit was us watching the TV show, and him making crude remarks about Sarah Michelle Gellar, while I argued that Spike was certainly a better choice for Buffy than Angel. I also pretended that he was a cat and spent a long time petting his hair (which was surprisingly soft).

Vivacus certainly has some competition in the looks department. Before I met Dimitri, Vivacus was no doubt the hottest teenage boy in Romania. But now...

All I can say is, blue hair is definitely the new hottest thing. The trend's going to hit Romanian boys like a tidal wave, leaving them chilled to the bone.

I examined the DVD case of _Buffy The Vampire Slayer_. I had once been obsessed with this show, but I gave it up a while ago. Now, I feel like watching it until my skin rots off.

What is it about Dimitri that makes him so hot? Was it his fearless blue hair, that changed shades from root to tip? Was it his piercing brown eyes, that shone even in the darkness? His pale skin, which glowed better than any Photoshopped magazine model? His sultry voice, free of the heavy Romanian accent Cristian and the other boys have? His sense of humour?

My cell phone let out a shrill beep, informing me of a text message. I picked it up and examined the screen. An unknown number.

_Stay away from Cristian._

I laughed. This must be Delia.

_I will, don't worry. He's not my type._

I was only half-lying. I couldn't stay away from Cristian, or he'll let Vladimir stalk me again. I wonder how he even stopped him in the first place. Blackmail, perhaps?

The response was instantaneous.

_?_

Grinning, I replied.

_Cristian is sooooooo boring. I like guys with blue hair._

There. It was confirmed. I liked Dimitri, and that is final. The truth, and only the truth.

_Thanks! :)_

I froze. What did Delia mean by "Thanks!" and a smiley face? Was she relieved that I didn't have interest in Cristian? Or...

Then it hit me.

Oh. My. God.

_Dimitri?_

I could practically hear Dimitri's manly laugh, and shuddered. I'd just admitted that I liked him! How stupid am I? He probably thinks I'm a skank now.

_Yes. LOL! Who did you think it was?_

_Umm...just this one chick. Nevermind._

My face was burning.

_Nevermind? So you don't really like "guys with blue hair"?_

_Well..._

I have no idea what to say to that.

_Don't worry about it. Do you know what I like? I like girls with dark brown hair, equally coloured eyes, and have names that start with C._

I jumped for joy. Literally, I did. I jumped up and down like a lunatic on a trampoline, except instead I just had my flimsy bed (I don't need a coffin, since I don't have to protect myself from UV rays).

I responded,

_Well, that's great, because I have dark brown hair and my name starts with C._

His reply made me smile from ear to ear.

_Why, I hadn't noticed! So, since girls like you are my preference, how about we hang out tomorrow night? Why don't I pick you up at eight?_

_Yes. :) Ttyl!_

I was getting quite sleepy. Who knew that jumping could tire you out so quickly, especially if I've been up for at least twenty hours?

Before I blacked out, I saw his last response.

_Good night, Celeste._


	4. Chapter 4

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Four**

_Chime! Chime! Chime! Chime! Chime! Chime! Chime! Chime!_

Eight o'clock. Dimitri should be here soon. I smoothed the wrinkles on my pleated black miniskirt and tightened the ebony Hot Topic garter I'd bought online. I had managed to find a Paramore T-shirt in the back of my closet and, with a few scissor snips and my mother's gifted sewing machine, I turned the plain black T-shirt into a beautiful tube top.

Dad and Mom had gone to the bar, leaving me alone in the house. Youthful parents are ah-may-zing.

On cue, I heard three sharp knocks on the door. I swung it open.

Dimitri, dressed in pin-riddled jeans so tight his leg muscles could bust out of it, smiled at me, once again showcasing his beautiful teeth. Seriously, who is this guy's dentist?

"Hey Celeste," he greeted. "So, let's go, shall we?"

I asked, "Wait. Where are we going?" I pulled on my leather bomber jacket and closed the door behind me.

"We're going to a party," Dimitri announced. "It's being held a block from here. Do you know the Balins?"

"Yeah, I kind of. The question is, how do you know the Balins?" I grinned at him, flirtatiously poking his muscular arm.

He shrugged. "You get to know a lot of people around here," he finally replied.

I thought nothing of his response as we headed towards that Balins's front door. Already I could hear the beat pumping, the electric guitar of the music shrieking. For a second, I was surprised that nobody has reported this yet. But then again, most of this part of the country is vampires, so they wouldn't mind anyways.

The front door wasn't locked; what a dangerous thing. We skimmed in, immediately catching the eyes of several of my classmates. They all gave me looks like "Way to go, Celeste!" or "What the hell, who's the dude?". I ignored them all, but I was secretly thrilled with the attention.

No more Miss One-Of-A-Kind. Hello, Miss Girl-With-Blue-Haired-Babe.

To add emphasis to my new nickname, I held onto Dimitri's arm like he was escorting me. He laughed, but didn't remove it.

"Celeste?" Vivacus's smooth voice, tainted slightly by his Romanian accent, cut through the air. "Celeste?"

I blushed as I turned to face Vivacus. His signature Polo cologne spun through the air, filling my nostrils with its spicy scent. His hair was combed perfectly, which would have made any other guy look nerdy, but not him. His army green button-down shirt's first two buttons were undone, exposing his broad chest.

"Hey," he greeted. Vivacus took notice of Dimitri and added, "Yo."

Dimitri nodded, but he didn't look happy with our new tagalong. "Want me to get you something?" he asked me.

"Sure. Unspiked punch, maybe?" I let go of his arm just as he began towards the refreshments table.

Vivacus grinned. "So, who's the new guy? You aren't cheating on my buddy, right?"  
"You mean Cristian?" I was shocked. "Of course not. Cristian and I aren't together. If we were together, I'd be with him."  
"Whatever." Vivacus rolled his emerald green eyes. "So, do you want to dance?"

My face turned as red as the writing on my shirt. "Um, I kind of came here with somebody else."

I can't believe I'm rejecting Vivacus Balin. _Vivacus Balin_, with his gorgeous green eyes and manly chest and black hair that seemed to look good in any style...

Vivacus smirked. "Well, your 'date' is kind of busy." He pointed over my shoulder, and I rotated my head to follow his gaze.

Dimitri was surrounded by girls in tight clothing. I swear to God, their clothes must have been made on their bodies, or they were just painted on. I was deeply afraid that Dimitri would like that.

Among them was Delia, who giggled like an idiotic schoolgirl and batted her fake bejeweled eyelashes at him.

"Hey, babe," she slurred, making it obvious that she'd had more than a few beers. "What's uh-p?"

Dimitri looked uncomfortable being crowded by drunk gothic Pussycat Doll wannabes. He edged away from them slowly, heading towards me with a plastic cup in his hand.

"Here," he said, brandishing the cup towards me. "Milady's unspiked punch." He stared at Vivacus, raising his eyebrow slightly. "Don't you have to be off somewhere, hosting or something?"

Vivacus scowled. "Actually, I just wanted to dance with Celeste. Do you mind?" He took a hold of my upper arm, and I felt a slight tingle on where he held me. It was as if his touch made me feel super-sensitive to his body cells or something.

"Of course I mind!" Dimitri snapped. "She's my date, not yours. Leave us alone, all right?" He grabbed my other arm, his touch making my knees feel like jelly.

Were these two babes about to fight over me? I hope not. I'd hate to see bruises on their faces, even though it wouldn't taint their hotness one bit.

"Do you want to fight, loser?" Vivacus spat. "Seriously, I wouldn't mind. This party's getting boring, and I'd love to liven it up." He nodded towards me. "Don't worry, babe. This'll just take a second."

Babe? Did Vivacus Balin just call me a babe?

I didn't have time to swoon, though, because Dimitri pounced on Vivacus like a furious leopard. I watched - in horror, disbelief, and somewhat pride - Dimitri as he punched Vivacus's face.

Vivacus wasn't going without a fight, though. He jabbed his elbows repeatedly into Dimitri's thighs, but he showed no pain. Dimitri continued punching every inch of Vivacus's face that he could hit.

A crowd surrounded them, cheering on Vivacus or "the other guy", as one of the drunk boys said. Clearly, "the other guy" was winning.

"Have you had enough yet, pea prick?" shouted Dimitri.

Octavia, who had managed to leave Delia's side, gasped at her brother's beaten figure.

"What are you doing?" she screamed at Dimitri. "Get off my brother!"

But she made no move towards the fighting boys. Even Octavia was smarter than that.

Finally, I heard Vivacus's smooth voice, sounds of pain and gasps for breath mixed in it. "I give! _I give_!"

Dimitri stood up, towering over Vivacus like a skyscraper to a bench. "Good. Then leave us alone."

He walked away from Vivacus, leaving Octavia and the other horrified girls to look after his injuries. It was strange, really, that Dimitri had left without a single scratch or howl of pain, while Vivacus lay there with a swollen lip the size of a peach.

"I took martial arts," he said in explanation. "Now, let's get out of here before some other idiot decides to hit on you."

I was thrilled that he cared enough to stop guys from eyeing me, but hitting Vivacus until he resembled pulp? It was kind of overwhelming.

But I shrugged and left the party with him.


	5. Chapter 5

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Five**

Dating Dimitri is as refreshing as a glass of blood after a long sleep. His Vermont-tamed charm made me swoon more than Vivacus's well-toned abs. Dimitri showed me at the party that he was incredibly, impeccably strong, and wasn't afraid to stand up for what he likes (or loves. Eep!).

Monday evening slapped me in the face. No matter how long I sleep in the morning, the night makes me want to gag. What's even worse is that I won't be able to see Dimitri tonight. Instead of my soul mate (but he needn't know I call him that), I'd have to spend time with Cristian.

"What's up?" Dad asked me, sipping his blood like a snooty upperclassman. "Do you need a ride to school?"

"No thanks. I'll fly." I grinned at him. Flying does have its advantages, thank you very much. A drive in Dad's BMW M3 could not compare to the feeling of air beneath my wings.

Dad looked skeptical. But instead of insisting, he asked, "So, what's this about Dimitri Bavard?"

I froze. "How do you know about Dimitri?"

Dad smirked. "Nearly everybody at the Bat Bar, my age or younger, are acknowledging the new boy. Have you met him yet?"

Phew. At least he didn't know that I'm dating him. Or that I made out with him. That would just be weird.

"He's just a new kid," I insisted. "Nothing really special."

"Not a vampire?" Dad shrugged. "That's interesting."

I nodded, trying to tell Dad telepathically to shut his face about my boyfriend. Dad isn't exactly against humans in his hometown, but he's pretty close to that. He apparently had some problem with a non-vampire in his youth, so he always advises me to keep away from such mischevious mortals. But what would he do if he found out that his precious one-of-a-kind daughter was dating a human boy?

I pray I'll never know.

**^o^**

Ms. Baggoti glared at the class. "Is anybody listening to me? Is anybody absorbing the words I am saying, and thinking about it?"

No answer. It _is_ Monday evening, after all. We're drained of energy. Not even Red Blood (a vampire's equivalent to Red Bull) could fix the nearly-dead expressions of my classmates.

"Cristian? You awake there?"

Cristian raised his head from his desk. "Yep," he responded, but he wasn't looking at the teacher. His annoying blue eyes were directed at me, as per usual.

Ms. Baggoti rolled her eyes. "I am handing out your marked tests. Do your corrections for multiple bonus points. If your test score is circled in black, then you must get your test signed by your parents before turning it in."

She slapped a thin stack of papers on my desk, not bothering to announce my score. Thank goodness for that. I hate it when the teachers yell out scores.

Eighty-four percent. Not bad at all, considering the circumstances for writing this.

I heard Cristian's voice exclaim, "Zero? What the..."

Ms. Baggoti shouted over his profanity, "You did cheat on this test, Mister Costellano!"

That shut him up. Stuffing his test in the front pocket of his backpack, he glared at me from across the room.

I shrugged at him. He did, after all, cover for me last time. I can't do anything about that, now can I?

**^o^**

The Vampopular table, surprisingly, is quiet. Delia is staring lovingly at Cristian, who is in return looking at me with the exact same eyes. Vivacus, with his swollen lip and blackened eye, sulked, his tray of food sitting there untouched. Octavia looked over at me with kind eyes, but the rest of her expression demanded an answer from me.

Finally, she broke the silence.

"Who was that lunatic who attacked Vivacus?" she asked, her gaze targeted at my overly vulnerable face.

I squeaked in reply, "New guy."

Delia dropped her puppy eyes from Cristian for a single second. "You mean Dimitri Bavard?"

God, has everybody heard about him? "Yes, Dimitri. I was hanging out with him, and I guess Vivacus pissed him off."

Vivacus scowled. Through his overly swollen lip, he exclaimed, "I din't piff him op. He'f a affhole."

Cristian growled, "We should beat him up."  
For a second, I imagined Cristian and Vivacus going after Dimitri. Vivacus would be easy to get rid of. But what about Cristian? Would he, like Vivacus, be shaken off with a few blows to the face?

"He'f _crafy_!" yelled Vivacus. "It don ma'er ip you pight pack, he'f crafy!"

Cristian and Delia looked over at Octavia.

Octavia, in her clear voice, translated. "He's _crazy_. It doesn't matter if you fight back, he's crazy!"

"Oh," Cristian said. "Well, maybe I can call the rest of our buds and stage a gang fight. No matter how crazy he is, he wouldn't stand a chance against twelve of us."

Twelve? My stomach churned. My boyfriend Dimitri, fighting against Romania's finest vampire boys . . . would he stand a chance at all?

**^o^**

Tuesday morning. I smiled at the sunny weather. It reminded me of the day I'd met Dimitri.

Speaking of Dimitri . . .

He stood outside the ice cream parlour, licking down a minty green scoop on a waffle cone. Slouching against the brick exterior, he talked in hushed voices to somebody in a long black cloak that covered them from neck to toe.

I stopped walking. Could he be talking to another girl?

He looked up just then, locking eyes with me. His intriguing brown eyes took in my inquisitive expression, and narrowed. Speaking faster and quieter, he urged the Human Cloak away. As soon as they were gone, he gestured for me to come over.

"Who was that?" I asked instantly, unafraid to ask the hard questions.

Dimitri smiled. "Don't worry. It's just my mother. She dresses weird."

I looked over my shoulder at where the Human Cloak had exited. They were walking steadfastly, but turned their head to look in our direction. An old woman's face. He wasn't lying to me.

Dimitri smiled at me, playfully twirling my glittery blue scarf. "What's up?"

"Nothing, really," I said, feeling bad for accusing him of cheating. "So, whatcha got there?"

He looked at his slowly melting cone. "Pistachio. Nasty piece of shit. I expected it to taste like the nuts, you know? It tastes like _shit._ A scoop of overpriced shit."

I laughed. "So, what do you want to do today?" I nudged him playfully.

He jokingly pretended to be thinking hard. "Well, I saw this book store a few blocks away. You game?"

Books? Ah, Dimitri is a silent reader. Aww, cute! I dig that.

We skipped the entire way to the store, ignoring the stares of the other people on the sidewalk. When we reached the bookstore, called The Book Nook, we were panting.

"Aha!" He pulled a pregnancy book off the shelf and playfully threw it in my direction. "You never know, eh?"

Snickering, I placed it back on the shelf. "You sicken me, Dimitri."

Dimitri laughed, before getting to the Teen Readers aisle. "Now this is more like it."

The mahogany shelves were lined with book titles such as _Shiver_, _Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_,_ Generation Dead, _and _The Hunger Games_. But Dimitri picked up a book with a shiny red cover and flipped it open.

"This one would be a good read for you," he advised, tossing it into my surprised arms.

I gazed down at the cover. _Evernight_, it was called. I shelved it immediately. I'm not really much of a reader.

Dimitri picked it up again. "You should get it."

I shrugged. "I don't know about that."

"Trust me, you'll love it." He raised one hand. "I promise."

I laughed. He looked ridiculous making a fake pledge.

He pulled out his silver stud-covered wallet and pulled out a twenty. "I'll pay for it."

I scowled immediately. "No, I have money. You don't need to."

"I want to." He flashed a brilliant smile at me. "I showed it to you, I recommended it to you, so I will pay for it."

I wrinkled my nose at the cover. Stupid shiny red cover, with its pages full of words. What could possibly be so interesting about you that Dimitri would highly recommend?

He placed a hand on the cover. "Please read it. Keep an open mind, all right?" He shot me another smile, and I couldn't resist nodding at him.

We reached the cashier. The black haired dude smiled at me, and I recognized him from my mathematics class. Jason Hallaway.

"Hey, Celeste," he greeted. Taking the twenty from Dimitri, he grunted, "Thanks, Bavard."

"You know him?" I couldn't help asking.

Smirking, Jason replied, "Everybody does, thanks to the party brawl." He handed the plastic Book Nook bag to me. "Have a good day, you two."


	6. Chapter 6

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Six**

(**A/N**:This chapter probably will cause some controversy from _Evernight _fans. But believe me, Chapter Seven will explain everything. Scout's honor. Now, here we go!)

Dimitri and I finished our sort-of date by having some burgers at the greasy fast-food restaurant just a block away from The Book Nook. The burgers were dry and cooked, completely unsatisfying to me, but I forced it down my throat. Nothing could ruin my day now. Not even if my parents adopted Delia.

Wait, that could still screw things up.

I sadly bade good-bye to Dimitri, who said that he had to get going soon after our date. Something about helping his mother finish unpacking. He dropped me off at my front door like a gentleman, and spent a few spare minutes kissing me on the porch. Thank goodness Mom and Dad were asleep.

As soon as I got into my room, I began reading _Evernight_. The story progressed beautifully, but the entirety of it began to confuse me. It was startlingly like my life. A girl going to a vampire school. I could easily relate to Bianca.

**^o^**

_Evernight_ was a good book. I couldn't put it down, literally. I had to take a bath instead of a shower just because I didn't want to get the pages wet. Dimitri's idea of a good read was exactly that: a good read.

As I lay on my bed, I reread the last few pages. The words, descriptive and beautiful, made me smile. Did Dimitri read these words and smile, too? What would he make of all the romantic parts in it? Did he enjoy reading a book that, in my opinion, is meant to be for girls? If so, he must be as sensitive as I am over-analyzing.

I prepared for school, dressing in a pleated black skirt, crisp white shirt, and dark blue cardigan. I sipped a cup of blood with about the same enthusiasm as a child downing poisoned Kool-Aid.

Another night of school. Oh joy.

**^o^**

Vivacus's lip had gone down, but the black eye had kept its dark colour. "Damn bastard," he'd muttered about it. "I'll make him shit out his intestines if it's the last thing I'll do."

The Vampopular table was loud again, bustling with fresh gossip and brags. As Cristian spoke nothing of his supposedly impressive soccer skills, I noticed Vladimir sitting a few tables away, his eyes locked on mine.

He curled his finger toward himself, gesturing for me to come over.

"Excuse me," I said, cutting off Cristian's story about his miracle goal.

Cristian narrowed his eyes at Vladimir. "Want me to punch some reality into him?" Vivacus cracked his knuckles, implying that he'd join in.

I shook my head. "This is something I should do myself."

I walked hesitantly to Vladimir's table, aware that Vivacus, Cristian, and the rest of the Vampopulars were watching my every move. I sat across from Vladimir.

"Hello," he greeted quietly.

"Um. Hi." My voice sounded robotic and forced. "What do you want?"

Vladimir smiled. "Well, I assume you heard of the Winter Dance next week."

I gulped. The Winter Dance, one of the most anticipated social events in the school, was coming up, and I still had no date. Oh my God. Was Vladimir about to ask me?

"Yeah, I heard of it." I rolled my eyes. "I'm not impressed by it."

Vladimir was caught off guard. "Oh. Well, I was wondering if you'd like to be my date to it. The Winter Dance, I mean."

I sighed. How could I break it to him that he's a creep whom I would never want to go to any event with? It's hard enough that he watches me like a hawk nearly every day. How could I break Vladimir's heart?

My answer, smart and quick, came to me.

"I'm sorry. I'm going to the dance with somebody else." I shrugged. "Sorry."

Not entirely a lie. I could just ask Dimitri if he'd like to attend it. Surely he wouldn't say no.

Vladimir scowled. "Oh." He waved me away. "Go back to your friends, then."

I left without complaint.

**^o^**

A knock at the door. Dad opens it and peeks in.

"You have a visitor. In the living room," he said smoothly.

Dimitri? My heart quickened. If it was Dimitri, then Dad must've done a bit of Q&A before letting me acknowledge that he was here.

I sprang up and headed into the living room. And I instantly regretted acting quickly.

Instead of vivid blue hair and shining brown eyes, ebony hair and blue eyes greeted me. Cristian Costellano sat on my favorite squashy red chair in the living room, smiling wickedly at me.

"Glad to know that you're so eager to see me," he remarked, his smile forming into a smirk.

I crossed my arms over my chest. "What are you doing here? This is my house, dumb ass. Not school. You can't just invade my privacy."

Cristian's smirk dissolved into a frown. "It's not like that, Celeste, I swear. Just let me explain."

I waited impatiently.

"I heard all about you and the new guy," he said simply. "And apparently you like him. But you shouldn't. He's not good for you, Celeste. He's not good for anybody."

"What do you know?" I spat. "You're just a boy. Even more so, you're a boy who doesn't know what the words 'go away' and 'no' mean."

Cristian scowled. "I'm trying to _help_ you, Celeste. You have no idea how bad Dimitri is. If he can beat up Vivacus, then he is no good at all. Trust me!"

"I _can't_!" I yelled.

"Don't go to the dance with him. He's nothing but trouble, Celeste. You'd be crazy to go with him." Cristian's voice wasn't demanding anymore. It was pleading.

I sighed, angry that he was still here. "Why do you care?"

He stood up and, crossing the room quickly, cupped my face in his hands and kissed me. Catching me completely off guard with his puffy lips.

For a second, I didn't move. I let him kiss me, softly and slowly, pressing his lips a little harder on mine with each passing second. But then I realized what we were doing, who I was doing this with, and I pushed him away quickly. He opened his blue eyes and stared at me, his expression full of hope.

"Because _I'm_ good for you," Cristian whispered. "Why can't you see that? I _love_ you. I care because I love you."

I was speechless. My father, however, was not. Dad was listening to our entire conversation, and had seen him kiss me. Dear God.

"You love Celeste?" he asked Cristian curtly. "Well, do you?"

Cristian nodded. "I do love her. I love her so much. She just thinks I'm an obnoxious snob, but I think of her as . . ." His voice broke off. "I think about her a lot. Nearly every second."

I turned to Dad. "Isn't there some place you need to be?"

Dad shook his head. "If you want me to leave, just say so, kiddo." He rubbed my head and took his cue to leave.

Cristian took this time to press his lips, once again, against mine. But this time, I punched him right across the stomach. He doubled over in pain.

"You don't love me," I murmured. "The only thing you could possibly love is yourself."

I headed over to the front door. Opening it slightly, I gestured for him to leave. He shook his head and panted, trying to regain his confidence and feeling in his torso.

"Fine, then. Leave whenever you want, but it better be soon." I turned to go into my room.

"Stop!" called Cristian. "I need to tell you something about Dimitri, and I need to tell you _now_, before something happens to you."

"What do you mean by that?" I shouted, not turning to face him.

Cristian surprised me by shouting, "Celeste, he's a vampire slayer!"


	7. Chapter 7

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Seven**

I stopped dead in my tracks. Cristian's words repeated, over and over again, in my head. My heart completely stopped.

Dimitri is a vampire slayer? But he couldn't be! He's so cute. And he's never tried to stake me or anything. So how could this be?

Without turning around, I yelled, "Liar!" Just loud enough for my father to come running. Overprotective fool.

"What is it, Celeste?" he sighed. Obviously he's tired of running in this room.

I pointed at Cristian. "He's lying to me!" I shrieked. "He's always lying to me!"

Dad turned to him, a strange expression on his face. "Well, this is kind of weird. I don't know what to do right about now, but I guess you should go."

"Just hear me out," Cristian pleaded. "Please, Celeste? I want you to know. I want you to be safe. You know I want you to be safe."

"I don't know what you guys are up to, but I don't want to be a part of it until your mother comes back from the store." Dad rolled his eyes and left.

Great, Dad. Thanks for your help. You might as well have been with Mom.

Cristian snickered. "Great Dad you got there."

"Shut up and leave," I growled. "I have better things to do than listen to your lies." I pointed at the door. "Just _go_!"

Cristian raised his hands up, as if he'd just been caught red-handed by the police. "I'll go, but you need to hear me out first."

I exhaled loudly. "Fine. Explain."

"Dimitri is a vampire slayer. The only reason he moved to Romania is because he got a tip that there's a vampire school here, and he can destroy all of the inhabitants." Cristian frowned. "He's been highly trained to kill ever since he was ten. He has no parents. He works in a small but strong group of slayers. He'schanged his appearance more than once to fit into his surroundings. And I doubt his real name is Dimitri."

I gaped at him. "Go. Now."

Cristian bolted out of the room, faster than any fastball I've ever pitched.

I sank slowly onto the ground, thinking through everything.

_He was strong enough to take down Vivacus, and Vivacus is a tank._

_ He wanted to watch _Buffy the Vampire Slayer _instead of _Dracula_._

_ He wanted me to keep an open mind about a story of a boy vampire slayer trying to take down a vampire school._

_ He had talked to the person in the cloak, but had claimed that it was just his mother._

Cristian's words clicked into place in my head. And I knew, instantly, that my Dimitri wasn't what I thought he was.

I also knew that I could never tell him that I'm a vampire.

**^o^**

Dimitri rang the doorbell a twelfth time. "Celeste? Are you there?"

I sat right in the hallway, far away from any windows, but able to see the door. I heard the frantic pounding on the door, and cried a little more into my black cotton blanket.

"Celeste, are you there?" Three more pounds, and what sounded like a kick. "Celeste, we have a date. Are you there?"

I sobbed harder, but I tried to quiet myself. It would not be good if he heard me now.

I had tried to talk myself into going on this date with him, but every single time I tried, I thought about what he was secretly planning. What he was going to do. Eventually. Soon.

How would he feel if he stormed into the school with his gang, only to find me there? Surely he'd be angry. Angry enough to kill me anyways, no matter if I am his girlfriend or not.

And he'd kill others, too. He'd kill everybody, thinking we were bloodsucking nuisances.

"_Celeste_!" he shouted. "Open the damn door, or I'm opening it myself!"

I was frightened. If he did manage to kick down the door and he found a quivering pile of me on the floor, what would he do? He _is_ a vampire slayer, of course.

In a way, I'm kind of glad that I was trying to break it off with him before it could get any worse. Like, what if we had sex or something? And I, a vampire, got pregnant with a vampire slayer's baby?

"_Celeste!_"

I sprang up and unlocked the door swiftly. Turning the doorknob quickly, Dimitri stormed in, his eyes burning with anger.

"What is going on?" he asked, his voice slowly quieting down. "Why didn't you answer the door?"

He brushed one of his thumbs against my cheek, and I shivered. Every single touch from him felt great, even though it shouldn't.

Dimitri eyed the blanket wrapped around my body. "What happened?" His tone was soothing. "Come here."

He wrapped his muscular arms around me, and I couldn't help but melt. He was just so warm and good looking.

"What happened?" Dimitri gently rubbed my back. "It's all right, Celeste. It's all right."

I started sobbing, right into his shirt. I couldn't tell him why I was crying. It would ruin everything. I knew that for sure.


	8. Chapter 8

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Eight**

(**A/N**: Since Point Of View switching is my thing, how about after my paragraph breaker (the bat-shaped thingy like this: **^o^**), you guys get a taste of Cristian's life?

And yes, these are the usual cliffhangers. You know how I do. ;) )

Dimitri's arms were curled around me as we sat on the soft plush couch in the living room. I had stopped sobbing, but I refused to tell him why I'd started. He kept trying to lift my head so he could stare into my eyes, but I fought against it. I couldn't look into that traitor's eyes. I _wouldn't_.

"Why won't you tell me?" he asked softly. "You can tell me, Celeste. I _am_ your boyfriend, after all."

That last sentence would have made me smile if it had been said three days ago. But now I feel like puking. I had kissed this guy. I had liked this guy.

Dimitri pressed his lips against my cheek. "Look, I don't like to see you like this. Please tell me why you're crying."

I wiped at my eyes, refusing to look at him. How could I look at him? He was planning on killing my kind. Who knows how many vampires he has already killed before coming here!

Finally, I whimpered, "I know, Dimitri. _I know_. I know about everything."

Dimitri blinked. "What are you talking about?" His arms drop from around me, though.

"I know you're a vampire slayer," I whispered, more tears building up in my eyes. "I know you came here to kill." A tear slipped out of my left eye, and I felt it slide down my cheek.

Instead of cradling me in his arms and telling me that I had it all wrong, he shrugged. "So?"

"'So'?" I gasped. "You're going to kill people. You're going to destroy families. You're going to ruin Romania forever."

"Um, okay?" He scoffed. "I don't see why you're upset about this. I mean, it's really none of your business anyways. I was born to be a vampire slayer, and I know it." He propped his legs up on the coffee table. "Why are you being so weird about it?"

I stared at him, taking in the distressed blue hair, his nonchalant expression, his scrappy Vans.

Could I tell him? What would he do if I did? Kill me and wait for my parents to come home so he could finish them, too? And what about Grandpa and Grandma? Would he slaughter them like animals?

Would he still slaughter me, even if he had once thought of me as his girlfriend?

"Because I am a vampire," I murmured. "Because you're going to kill me, and _I_ know it."

Dimitri's Vans slip off of the coffee table. The hair on the back of my neck stand right on end as his brown eyes widened at me.

"You're a _what_?" He gaped at me. "No, no, no. You're perfect. You're human. You're my girlfriend. You can't be..."

"But I am," I interrupted. "I am a vampire. So what now, Mr. Why-Do-You-Care? Are you going to kill me? Slaughter me like the animal you think I am? Go after my family?"

Dimitri's eyes remained locked on my face, his expression frozen. It was as if he'd been replaced with an exact replica of his body, except the eyes were blinking in disbelief.

"You _can't_ be." His mouth opened in protest. "You go out in the daylight. I've never seen you drink blood. You can't be a vampire."

It was my turn to shrug. "Since my mother was human and my father changed her, their genetics allowed my skin to be strong against UV rays. And I don't drink blood in public, simple as that."

Dimitri closed his mouth as he thought. Then, finally, he whispered, "There's a cure."

"A cure?"

"I could save you," he said. "I could stop you from being the bloodsucking fiend that you are. I could turn you into a human. We could be together if you were."

I shook my head, stepping away from the couch. "I won't do it. I love being a vampire."  
Dimitri stood up. "I love you, Celeste. Do this for us."

"No!" I cried, surrendering to the tears that had collected in my eyes. "_No, no, no_!"

Dimitri stepped towards me. I covered my wet face with my shaking hands, afraid of what would happen next.

**^o^**

"Where do you think that scum is?" growled Vivacus. "I want to hang him off a cliff by his balls."

Even I grimaced at the mental image.

Vivacus, Sean Munster (no relation to the theatrical Munsters), Emelio Semme, Gareth Ceamin, and I stood right outside the frumpy ice cream parlour. Our mission? To find that vampire slaying scum and hang him by his - shudder - balls.

"Din't you say sumfing 'bout a girl?" Emilio said in his usual gangsta attire. "I bet he's wiff 'er."

"Wiffer?" Vivacus rolled his eyes at me and mouthed, "Way to pick 'em."

I sneered back.

"The girl's name is Celeste Sterling. Lives near Dracula's castle. I know the place. Let's go!" I called out.

The guys followed after me, winking at every girl in the street. I rolled my eyes and silently shook my head at myself for choosing such dimwits to join me.

The Sterling house was silent. I didn't hear anything at all. Perhaps he wasn't here. Maybe Celeste was sleeping or something.

Celeste.

A loud cry breaks the silence, and my gang stops short.

"What was _that_?" Sean yelled.

"I don't know, but let's break in there and find out!" Vivacus ordered.

We ran towards the front door shoulder-first, and rebounded off of it quickly. The cry died down, but my hope didn't.

"Try again!" I demanded.

We shoved again, and this time the door caved in. We ran right into the room.

The blue-haired freak stood over Celeste, a wooden stake in his hands. He turned to glare at us, Celeste whimpering at his feet.

Gareth yelled out, "Get him!"


	9. Chapter 9

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Nine**

(A/N: This chapter will be in Cristian's Point of View again.)

With a loud roar, Gareth charged at Dimitri. But just as he reached him, Dimitri smacked him across the face with the sharp stake, and he fell back.

"Bastard won't get away with this," Gareth grumbled from the floor, trying to mask his bloodied face.

Sean went next. He attacked Dimitri and knocked the stake out of his hand, but Dimitri was strong, and started strangling him. Sean's face slowly turned a sickening shade of dark purple before Dimitri tossed him into the coffee table. The wood of it splintered upon heavy contact, and one spiked straight into his heart.

His death was slow. As if somebody had pressed Slow-Motion on the scene, we all watched in horror (or in Dimitri's case, triumph) as Sean Munster disintegrated into a pile of blood red powder.

"You filthy monster!" I roared, jumping towards Dimitri. I wrapped my arm around his neck and held tight as he struggled against me. He was just a frail human, after all. He would need to breathe.

Finally, I let him drop onto the floor. His body went with a loud thud, as if he was full of lead.

I looked over at Celeste, who was whimpering in the fetal position. I kneeled down and wrapped my arms around her. She shivered when I touched her, but it was soothing.

"Let's get out of here," I whispered. "Before he wakes up."

Her eyes were wide. "What about my parents? What if-"

"Trust me, he won't stick around." I pulled her up to her feet and she balanced herself on me. "Let's go, now."

"My Mazda's parked at the ice cream place," offered Vivacus. "We'll all go from there."

"To where?" Celeste started crying. "I can't leave my parents defenseless. Where would we go?"

"Far, far away from here," I murmured into the soft wisps of her coconut-scented hair. "I promise."

**^o^**

We left. As we drove through the twisting roads, I couldn't help thinking of the Sean, the boy who died for this one mission. His parents would never know what happened to him. His girlfriend would be devastated...

We drove. I didn't glance back once. I kept my lips pressed to Celeste's cheekbone, trying to keep her relaxed. We'd brought a couple of blankets, pillows, money, and blood, so we could on for a while.

"Far, far away," I repeated into her ear. "I promise you. We'll be safe."

She locked eyes with me. "I loved him," she whimpered.

I bit the inside of my cheek, trying not to show the rage and pain that those three words were making me feel. "He doesn't deserve you, Celeste. He's a killer."

"I made out with him." She looked at me in shock. "Oh my God, I made out with that freak. And I told him that I was a vampire."

I sighed. "Maybe if you hadn't, that would have saved us."

She nodded. "Maybe that boy wouldn't've died."

One corner of my lips curled up in a small smile, as if to reassure her.

**^o^**

The car stopped moving. Blinking rapidly, I looked around. Vivacus, Emilio, and Gareth were looking at me expectantly.

"We need to stop at a hotel for the morning," they grumbled.

Of course. I had totally forgotten that we were vampires. But my Celeste could walk through the day... I bit back the sting of jealousy, hating myself for being jealous of Dimitri. While I had slept, he had been macking on her.

And she admitted that she made out with him.

We slid groggily out of the car and headed for the main desk. The snooty-looking woman sitting there gaped at us over her horn-rimmed glasses. A bunch of guys and a nearly-unconscious girl. Of course we looked suspicious.

"Four rooms, please." I held out my black credit card. "I expect checkout to be by nine o'clock in the evening of next day."

Thankfully, the woman didn't question my checkout time. Instead, she questioned,"Four?" The woman made a point of counting the people in our group. "So does that mean that two of you will share a room?"

"Precisely," I said. "I will share a room with the girl."

The lady's searing gaze bore on us. "Are all of you of age?"

"Of course," Vivacus responded, flashing her one of his infamously dazzling smiles. "All eighteen."

The woman, positively entranced by his smile, giggled and passed Vivacus, Gareth. and Emilio their own room cards. She passed one of them specifically to me, eyeing Celeste.

"She'll be fine. Too much Nyquil." I shrugged indifferently. "Have a nice night, lady."

The woman raised an eyebrow at me. "It's almost four in the morning."

Vivacus chuckled.

"Exactly!" Gareth exclaimed, running towards the elevator.

**^o^**

I curled Celeste up in my arms, taking one last glance at the brightening window before heading into the closet. I had managed to cover the light with some flimsy towels, but I knew that if we didn't find a good dark refuge, we would be toast (or, at least, I would).

So now we're lying on the floor of a closet. Whoop-de-fucking-doo. It smells like Febreze in here, and I hate Febreze. God.

Wrapped in a thick duvet decorated in sick (and I do mean _sick_, not the good sick) coloured flowers, Celeste and I are embedded in darkness. The only reason I know that the light is broadening is because of the tiny crack right under the closet door.

I had managed to put a "Do Not Disturb" sign on the hotel room door's handle, so that no maid will come in here and freak out because the two inhabitants are in the closet. Well, not in the closet like in the-

Well, you know what I mean.

I took another long whiff of her hair, the scent of fresh coconut filling my nostrils. I pulled her as close as I could without thinking about protection, and closed my eyes.


	10. Chapter 10

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Ten**

(**A/N**: Before we begin, I'd just like to say that I'm sorry that I don't update as often as usual, because I just become really distracted about things. Sorry about that.

First part is Cristian's Point of View. Next part is Dimitri's. Third part is Celeste's.)

I woke up slowly, unaware of my unfamiliar surroundings. I pressed my face again Celeste's hair, only to hear her mutter something. My eyes fluttered open, only to lock with hers.

"Celeste?" I rubbed my eyes. "Are you awake?"

She sounded surprised. "Cristian?"

Even just saying my name sent chills down my spine. I smiled softly and brushed my lips against her soft cheek.

"Where are we?" Celeste asked. She sat up, pressing her palms to the walls that bordered us. "Is this a closet?"

"We're in a hotel. We had to stop for the light." I chuckled at my corny joke. "I bet the others are awake. We should go now."

Her eyes widened. "Do you think Dimitri's looking for us right now?" Celeste's lower lip trembled in fear. "What if he's got my parents already?"

"He wouldn't dare," I assured her. "He'll want to go after us, not your parents. Trust me on that." I took hold of one of her hands and kissed it. Soft, smooth. A perfect girl hand.

Before I knew what was going on, Celeste had leaned into me and carefully pressed her lips on mine.

**^o^**

I gritted my teeth, eyeing the shining lights of the city behind me. I sped up, my eyes flashing this way and that.

"Bastards," I muttered angrily. "Well, I'll be the death of them."

Speeding up even more, I passed by a sportscar. The thing I've seen in extremely pricey dealerships, the one thing I'll need to comb the area faster.

The driver was one of the girls I'd seen at the Book Nook once. Completely easy prey, and stupid too. She only went to the Book Nook to look smart in front of any studious boys.

A slut who loves nerds, or bookish boys of any kind. Perfect.

I gestured for her to roll down her window, and in return I rolled down the passenger seat's.

"What is it?" she asked softly, her eyes scanning me over. She obviously recognized me from her bookish facade at the store.

I plastered a smile on my face, like I usually did with Celeste. "Could you pull over, please? I want to ask you something."

She giggled. "Sure thing."

Humans. They're so easy. I grinned to myself as I watched her sportscar move to the side. I followed after her, chuckling when I noticed she was quickly applying lipstick.

After parking, I headed to her car. She swung open the door and made a point of revealing her pale legs as she stepped out.

Miniskirt and tank top. Easy, stupid girl. This won't take long.

"Hey," she said, making her voice low in an attempt to sound sultry and alluring. "What's up?"

Fighting the urge to roll my eyes, I purred, "I want you."

She let out a high-pitched giggle before deeply responding, "Well, my parents won't expect me home until _very_ late."

I smirked. "Excellent." I gestured to the backseat of her car. "Shall we?"

The girl tittered. "We shall." She stepped away from the driver's seat, keys still in the ignition. As she turned her back to me to fumble with the backseat's door handle, I slipped into the front of the car and immediately locked the doors.

"Hey!" I heard her shriek. "What are you doing?"  
"Sorry, toots," I muttered under my breath, "but I'd rather take your ride than ride you."

I sped away, as fast as the tires could go.

**^o^**

I pressed my lips against Cristian's again. The taste of him was intoxicating, beautiful. It made me lightheaded, yet I wanted more. More and more and more.

He wasn't holding back anymore, either. His hands were in my shirt, holding my back as he kissed me deeply. I pictured him in my mind, his blue eyes hidden by his deathly pale eyelids. His full lips pressed against mine.

I wanted him.

He wanted me.

I felt him remove his hands from my back, and I heard the sound of him unbuttoning his shirt. As soon as I was sure it was off, I pressed against him, relishing in his toned body.

Cristian pulled away from me, his voice hoarse. "Celeste..."

"Kiss me," I begged.

He kissed me again, his hands slipping into the back of my shirt again. I sighed into his mouth, making him chuckle. I could feel my cheeks reddening, but we couldn't stop. I reached down and felt the smooth line of his belt. I was afraid to reach lower without his consent.

He pulled away from me again, his eyes still closed. "Celeste, maybe we shouldn't."

"Cristian, I love you," I blurted out.

His blue eyes opened, twinkling. "Do you mean that?" he asked instantly, releasing his insecurity. "Do you honestly mean that, Celeste? If you do..." His voice broke off, and I felt his eyes mentally undressing me.

I nodded, leaning onto his chest again. "I love you."

He smiled. "I love you, too." Cristian cupped my face in his hands and pulled me to his mouth. Just before we touched, however, five loud abrupt pounds, just away from the closet, became audible.

"Guys!" a familiar voice yelled. "We have to go _now_! Dimitri's here!"

"He found us," I whimpered. Cristian pulled the blankets off of us and pulled me up wordlessly. He opened the door and, after pulling on our shoes, quickly opened the room door.

Gareth, Emilio, and Vivacus looked back at us before snickering. Cristian pressed his lips tightly together and narrowed his eyes at them.

"Did we interrupt something?" Vivacus asked. "If we did, you're going to have to put it on hold. I saw him in the lobby, so we have to go _now_."

"How?" I asked.

Gareth pointed to the end of the hallway, and I looked at him quizically.

"By elevator? What if he's using the elevator?" I asked. "That wouldn't help us at all."

Emilio smirked. "We's gon jump ou', tha's wha' we're doin'."


	11. Chapter 11

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Eleven**

(**A/N**: First part is Celeste, second part is Cristian's, and third part is UNKNOWN. This is short, because of lack of time, but I really wanted to write again after the fast feedback you guys have given me for yesterday's post.

Yeah, you guys can totally guess who's point of view it is in the third part. Congratulations. I officially gave you something really cheesy to do. And I do warn you, it's a short part, and it's very obvious. Blah.

Well, I don't know about you guys, but I feel really bad about killing off that Sean Munster guy. He died without showing his true potential. He would have shown great window-jumping. Rest in peace, buddy. I kind of wonder how Raven and Alexander are faring, because they probably would have found the dead boy's dirt on their table by now.)

* * *

Window-jumping, I'm afraid, has a high risk of killing you if you happen to be on a very high floor away from the ground outside. Like we are. And if you're panicked and it's your only option, the risk only grows higher.

We were vampires. We could fly out. But then again, the hallway camera was capturing everything. Just jumping out of the window was strange enough. Turning into a bat would make things even worse.

The jump was swift. With Cristian's arms wrapped securely around me, we jumped out of the window and prayed for a good landing. We ended up in a bush full of (or used to be full of) sweet-smelling pink flowers.

"Ow," I whimpered, pulling a few scattered flowers off of my chest. "Cristian, are you all right?"

He chuckled. "I'm fine. Let's get in the car."

"We should return the room keys," I said. "We have to, Cris."

He smiled at my makeshift nickname. "Fine, I'll go in. But only after you and the others are in the car."

I dutifully headed for the car, looking over my shoulder at the front door. Had Dimitri seen our exit? Was he racing to our rooms right now? What if the other didn't make it?

I heard a semi-loud whoop, and a muffled thud. I spun around and saw Emilio sitting on his butt, looking extremely proud of himself for aiming away from the bushes.

"That," he said with a big smile, "was fucking brilliant."

I laughed as loud as I could in the night, still heading for the car. Cristian steered me towards the Mazda, which was suddenly just a few feet away. We both chuckled when we heard the sound of Gareth and Vivacus's landing, which was accompanied with a stream of swear words.

"I love you," Cristian said, smiling at me. His perfect teeth glistened in the moonlight. I wanted to kiss him just then, and never let go.

It's surprising how your outlook on people can change in just a couple of days. I used to hate this boy. Now we are holding hands, both terrified of us getting caught by Dimitri. And we had made out in a closet.

He unlocked the car and swung open the door. I pressed my lips to his and climbed in. He followed, after sticking the key into the ignition.

Gareth, Emilio, and Vivacus soon entered the car. The back of Emilio's jeans was covered in dirt and scattered grass blades. Vivacus's clothes were wet. Gareth's hair was sprinkled with a strange-smelling water.

"Stupid fountain," Gareth muttered. "My hair smells like wet coins." He sniffed his hair and made a face.

"You shut up," Vivacus countered. "I jumped into the damn pool."

Emilio laughed. "Ma jump was da best."

"Oh, are we really talking about this _right now_?" I asked, irritated by them. "Let's go already! God damn it!"

Cristian's eyes sparkled. "You're hilarious," he told me with a dazzling smile.

Gareth rolled his eyes and sped out of the parking lot.

**^o^**

I curled my arms around Celeste's unconscious body, ignoring the jeers I received from the others. Whatever, guys. At least I have somebody to love here.

"Dude, it's almost four," Vivacus said to me. "What are we going to do? The sun-"

"I know about the damn sun," I muttered away from Celeste's ear. "God. Just let me think."

"If we were human, this would be easier," Gareth grumbled. "But then again, if we were human, we wouldn't be in this situation."

I yawned. "All right. Let's just stop at another hotel for the night."

Gareth flipped on his turn signal, and soon we were in a Days Inn parking lot. I sat up and, quickly running my fingers through my hair, jumped out and quickly bought two rooms.

"Two rooms?" Vivacus cried out in horror. "We can't share rooms. It's unethical."

Emilio made a face at Vivacus. "This ain't cool, yo," he told me. "One o' us is gon' end up wiff you an' da girl. An' we no wan' see _that_."

Gareth sighed. "How about Vivacus, Emilio, and I sleep in one room, and you two sleep in the other?"

Vivacus scowled. "What the _hell_, man?"

"That's a good idea," Celeste said, now awake. "Besides, I don't want you guys to see us like that." She exaggerated a sexy wink at me, and the guys cracked up.

"So it's decided." I dangled the room keys on my fingers. "You three sleep in one room, while Celeste and I have some good sex in the other."

"If you get tired of Pretty Boy, don't hesitate to come over to our room," Vivacus declared, winking at Celeste. She smirked at him and rolled his eyes, dismissing his comment.

I handed Gareth one of the keys, and they all raced to the room to claim the comfiest places. Celeste and I walked silently to our own room, holding hands.

**^o^**

What a little _whore_. She thinks she can just run off with him and not let me do anything about it? I gritted my teeth and sped up, ignoring the speed limit signs that popped up every fifty feet.

My gas tank was full. My head felt like it was about to explode with anger. And I was practically shaking.

"Bitch," I hissed under my breath. "Slut. Whore."

I would come after her soon enough.


	12. Chapter 12

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Twelve**

(**A/N**: The first Point of View is none other than Celeste's. Second is Raven's (because I have to add this in, no matter how heartbreaking it is). Third is Alexander's.

And BTW, the mystery POV will not be revealed by me, at least not yet. Keep your estimations going, you never know.

Also, this is one of the most dramatic things I've ever written. Sad, even. If I reduce any of you to tears (though I think that highly unlikely, since I'm not much of a weep-inducing writer), I'm sorry for that. Please forgive me for any sadness/anger/frustration you will feel with this following chapter.

Also one of the longest posts I've ever written. Okay, I'll stop adding things to my author note. Here we go!)

I was restless. The entire time the others had been sleeping, I had been stroking Celeste's hair, careful enough not to snag my black plastic spider ring in between the silky strands of dark brown. I had insomnia, and I knew why.

I was in love. Truly in love with Celeste Sterling. And I'm not ashamed of it one bit. I had said it to her in front of my friends several times. Why would admitting it to myself be any different?

I suddenly pictured a different, alternate reality. What if Dimitri never showed up? Would Celeste still loathe me? Would Delia and I be together by now? Would I ever have a chance to express my love for Celeste? Would we have even kissed?

The night I warned her about Dimitri, I had kissed her and told her that I loved her. If Dimitri hadn't showed up in Romania, I would not have been there that night. I would have been in bed with some girl I'd met at the Bat Bar, silently pretending that the girl was Celeste.

What excuse would I have had to visit her, then? Nothing, really. Then we would have never progressed to this. We would never have shared a room together. She would have been lying in her bed, dreaming of God knows what, while I stayed awake through the day with my thoughts plagued of her. The way it always has been since I've first met her. If Dimitri hadn't shown up, kissing Celeste would have just been a twisted fantasy of mine.

But yesterday night...Celeste and I had kissed. _Really_ kissed. I had pulled off my shirt and she had ran her fingers over my chest.

For some reason, Dimitri coming to Romania and ruining our lives was the best thing that's ever happened to me.

Celeste stirred in my arms. I stroked away a few strands that covered her thin face before pressing my lips tenderly to her forehead. I loved her. I really did.

What if we survived this? What if Dimitri got caught, or even killed, and we were safe again? Would we still love each other? Would I introduce her to my parents, and get introduced to her's? Would I have children with her, and watch them grow old?

"Cristian?" she asked groggily. "What's-"

I hushed her. "Go back to sleep, love," I whispered. "Everything's fine."

Her delicate brown eyes searched my face for a single falter, but did not find one. She smiled lazily at me and slipped into unconsciousness.

I twirled a few of her strands, picturing our children. Strange, really, since I don't even know if we have a future, together or not.

They would have her hair colour and smile. They would have my eyes and teeth. I smiled at the picture of my dream child, just as I realized that the light that seeped through the bottom of the closet door began to fade.

Time to motor.

But I was so comfortable, with her head balanced on me, her body twisted to fit mine perfectly. And I was getting awfully tired...

A loud knock startled me. It wasn't even coming from the room door, just a few steps away. It was coming from the actual door I was leaning my head against.

Then I heard a hushed voice. "Cristian? Celeste? We have to go soon."

I quietly lowered my lips onto Celeste's forehead. Her eyes opened gently.

"We're going now," I murmured. "You can sleep in the car."

She muttered something, but I didn't hear it very well. We got up slowly and opened the door, exposing our sleepy figures to Gareth, Emilio, and Vivacus.

"Let's go," Gareth said softly, noting the tired girl next to me. He brandished a small silver flask and simply said, "Found this - and more - in the car. Us three already had some, so go ahead."

Instead of alcohol, the smooth taste of blood flowed into my throat. Right then and there I wanted to drain the rest of the flask, but a loud yawn from Celeste reminded me that I was not the only starving vampire here. I pulled the flask away from my lips and handed it to Celeste, who finished it off quickly.

As Vivacus checked us out of the hotel, the rest of us piled into the car. Celeste immediately fell asleep with her head pressed serenely on my lap; a position that made Emilio and Gareth smirk.

"Shut up," I mouthed. It wasn't like her mouth was on me or anything. Just the back of her head touched me, the lower part of her body curled up in the fetal position so as to fit the space we'd left her to sit on.

Vivacus climbed into the passenger seat. "All set. Let's go." He eyed the position Celeste was in and smirked like the others, and I raised my middle finger at him in return.

As we sped along the road, Vivacus and Emilio singing along horrendously to some Lady Gaga song, I brushed Celeste's hair out of her face and tried to fall asleep. But the mere thought of an angel in my presence was enough to keep me up.

**^o^**

"_Bloody hell_." Alexander paced the room, looking angrier than I'd ever seen him before. "Why would she-"

"Maybe it wasn't her fault," I defended. "Perhaps somebody else-"  
"Explain to me, then, how somebody else came into our house, ruined the furniture, and staked somebody right on our table," Alexander snarled. "This is insane, Raven, and you know it. And she left us, God damn it. She left us to deal with this shi-"

"Calm down," I whispered, touching Alexander's forearm. "Everything will be all right."

Alexander took three heavy breaths befor responding, "You're right."

"As usual." I smirked. "But right now, we need to identify this poor vampire, and contact their family." Seeing Alexander's eyes red again, I nearly shouted, "_They have a right to know what happened_! We'll deal with Celeste later!"

"This is fucking insane, Raven! _Everything_ has been insane! My life, my family, everything! And it's all gone wrong because..." His voice faded away. He pushed his fingers through his hair. "You know what? I don't understand why I married you. I really don't."

My lower lip trembled. This couldn't be happening. Not to us. My Alexander...He couldn't seriously-

"Tell me why we got married, Raven," he murmured, staring at me with his bloody red eyes. "Tell me why."

"You know why," I said tearfully. "You know!"

He hissed, "Tell me."

"Because you bit me," I whimpered. "You bit me. We're tied together now, bound together for life. You know tha-"

Alexander glared at me. "That's not all, is it? Tell me why else."

I swallowed hard. "Because you loved me. Because I loved you, too."

"Because you were insecure and naive. You went to Jagger's to die, and didn't even let me discuss your options with you. You're a coward, and you were afraid of losing me to Demile all this time." Alexander laughed bitterly. "You know what? Demile's looking pretty good right about now."

I stood up. "Please, don't do this...Alexander, please. I love you. What happened to us?"

Alexander muttered, just loud enough for me to hear, "You ruined my life."

"Calm down. It wasn't like that. Please, Alexander." I took a step towards him, and he took one backwards.

He shouted, "You ruined me!"

"No, I didn't! You always told me I made you better!" I said indignantly. "You told me that so many times, Alexander. You know we need each other! Please, just, please don't..." I started crying. I couldn't help it anymore.

Alexander's arms didn't wind around me. He did not comfort me. Instead, he stared coldly at my shivering body.

Finally, he spat, "You disgust me." And with that, he trudged to the door, swung it open, and disappeared into the night.

I collapsed onto the floor, tears shaking me like an earthquake. My Alexander...After years and years of love. He was gone. He hated me. He was going to find Demile and fall in love with her, and I'll never see him again. Never.

A new sound made me open one watery eye. I saw a boy, with blue hair that seemed to change shades with every inch, staring down at me. In his hand, he held a thing pyramid-shaped object. I knew what it was instantly, and gently closed my eye again.

**^o^**

I shook my head as I sped off in my BMW, far away from the treacherous house where the dreadful woman was. I was on the hunt for Demile. Surely she will take me back. Surely...

I took several deep breaths, trying to clear my head. By the time I did, I began ridding my head of awful thoughts. The first one to go out of the window was that Raven wasn't worthy of me.

I made a U-turn, heading back to the house. I would need to apologize. It was a moment of weakness. My own daughter fleeing from us, and leaving a murdered vampire in her wake, was dramatic. My leaving was downright inappropriate.

I swung open the door as soon as I reached the house, before remembering to properly shut down the car. As I ducked my head to make sure I hit the brake hard enough (there was a slight springy problem with the brake), I saw a flash of blue from my peripheral vision.

I stepped out of the car and headed for the house. I noticed that the door was completely ajar, and I could easily see the squashy living room couch and chairs. Surely Raven would be in there.

"Raven?" I called as soon as I was within speaking distance of the living room. "I'm so sorry, love. I was out of my mind with all this worry about Celeste, and I said things I never meant. I love you, Raven. Will you forgive me?"

That was when I noticed the dead silence. Not even sobbing, or the sound of somebody moving around. Absolutely nothing.

I stepped into the house, my footsteps extremely loud.

"Raven?" I called. "I'm sorry!"

I walked closer to the living room, where minutes ago I had been foolish enough to break it off with her. I regretted every syllable of it.

I would have to give her flowers, shower her with the best gifts imaginable. Spend more time with her. Sleep with her until we've conceived another baby, like she said she wanted. Anything to make her happy with me again.

That's when I noticed the small lump on the floor.

"Raven?" I said weakly.


	13. Chapter 13

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Thirteen**

(**A/N**: First off, we'll have Celeste, still stuck in the car with the boys. Then, by popular demand, we'll have a looksie on how Alexander's faring! Lastly, we'll catch a glimpse into Dimitri's world.

Oh, and please forgive me for abusing Lady Gaga and Ke$ha's lyrics in this next one. *smiles innocently*)

I've faced many things in my life, most of them unpleasant. Cristian, back when he was a vile boy. Rumours about Vivacus's jockstrap, including alleged pictures. My father on a bad hair day.

But nothing was bad compared to this.

Vivacus, Gareth, and Emilio's voices were mockingly high-pitched, singing as loud as they could (they weren't singing in the slightest, shrieking is more like it) to Lady Gaga.

"'I WANT YOUR DRAMA, THE TOUCH OF YOUR HAND!'" Vivacus screeched, "'I WANT YOUR LEATHER-STUDDED KISS IN THE SAND!'"

The three chorused, "'I WANT YOUR _LOVE_! LOVE, LOVE, LOVE...'"

I muttered into Cristian's ear, "Please shoot me now."

He chuckled and said, "If I have to endure this, you're doing it, too." In his fist, he held a now-empty flask of blood, one we'd drained minutes before.

As the song finished, Cristian and I sighed. Finally. It was over and done with, best to be forgotten forever.

The over-caffeinated man on the radio chirped, "That was 'Bad Romance' by Lady Gaga! Even though it's barely one a.m., it's never too late for love."

Gareth made a sound that sounded remotely like gagging. Emilio soon copied it. All of a sudden, three fake-dry-heaving boys were in our presence.

"And to show that love never dies, not even in the night, let's show everybody a little Ke$ha!" the man announced.

And the first beats of "Your Love Is My Drug" played, and Gareth whooped joyfully.

"Dear God!" Cristian yelled, as the three boys once again started singing.

"'MAYBE I NEED SOME REHAB, OR MAYBE JUST NEED SOME SLEEP! I'VE GOT A SICK OBSESSION! I'M SEEING IT IN MY DREAMS!'" Vivacus shouted.

The song painfully progressed, up until...

"'YA _LAV_, YA _LAV_, YA _LAV_ IS MY DRUG!'" Emilio cried out the words so emotionally, it made Cristian and me snicker. "'YA _LAV_, YA_ LAV,_ YA _LAV_!"

Cristian reached out and turned the radio off, cutting off the boys mid-sentence. They glared at him, but made no move to turn it back on.

"Guys, this is ridiculous," I said without thinking. "Dimitri is going to find us sooner or later. Why are we running? We should be fighting."

For a second, the boys seemed shocked by my outburst. Then Vivacus spoke.

"You're right. We should just turn around and go back. Fight for everything."

"So this entire trip was fruitless." Gareth slumped over the steering wheel. "This is utterly ridiculous."

"We don't have any fruits," Cristian said, utterly confused. "But I do agree. This _is _ridiculous."

"But we can't go back now," Gareth insisted. "We have to keep going. Who knows what Dimitri's done by now?"

**^o^**

My Raven.

I stared at her, unable to process a sensible thought. All I could think about was her, the good times we've spent together. We'd fought Trevor and Jagger, slept beside each other, had a baby. And now this.

I slowly lowered to the ground, my eyes locked on her the entire time. When I was finally strong enough to completely register what had happened, I reached out and touched her.

Her body, slick with still-warm blood, was curled up in the fetal position. The brown eyes I'd loved for years were closed. The stake, driven deeply into her stomach, must have pierced through some organs.

Suddenly, her eyes fluttered open. Her brown eyes stared at me.

"Alex- Alex-" she mumbled.

"Shh," I whispered, getting close enough to hold her close. "Everything's all right."

Her eyes looked at herself briefly before she murmured, "Stake..."

I frowned at the wooden object. "I know. We'll get you to the hospital. It's okay, Raven. I love you. We'll get through this, all right?"

I gathered her to me, before picking her up bridal-style. She buried her face into my chest, but her eyes were still focused on me. Halfway to the BMW, I heard her voice again.

"Will we?"

Her tone was innocent, filled with childishness. She looked at me hopefully, despite the blood that slowly flowed from her.

"Yes, we will," I assured her, adjusting her in the passenger seat. "Just hold on, all right? That's what you can do. Hold on."

"What if I-"

I urged, "You can! And you will. I need you, Raven. I'm so sorry for what I said. I didn't mean it at all. I love you."

Raven smiled, more out of lightheadedness than of love. I rushed into the driver's seat and sped off into the night.

Romania's secret hospital for vampires had a slow day up until we arrived. Nurses lounged in empty rooms, waiting for the injured to arrive. What a sight Raven and I were, rushing into the emergency room as if Satan himself was right behind us, poking us with his fire-hot trident.

As Raven was in surgery, to get the stake removed, I felt a sense of deja-vu. I remembered the night Raven had gone to get killed by Jagger, only to leave with a stake in her. We'd gone here that time, too.

As I waited, some young nurses tried flirting with me. I rolled my eyes and struck up conversations about my wife's critical condition, hoping they'll get the memo and go away. Some of them did, but others stayed to listen.

Finally, the doctor informed me that Raven was all right, but very weak and lightheaded. I entered her room, expecting her asleep. Instead, she was sitting upright, waiting for me.

"Alexander," she whispered.

I wrapped my arms around her, careful as to not squeeze around or on the bandages. "I'm so glad you're all right," I muttered into her shoulder. "I don't know what I would have done without you, Rave."

"I love you."

I pressed my lips gently to her's. "Love you, too. Get some rest, all right? You're safe now." I tucked her gently in the blankets and sat beside the bed, holding her hand as softly as I could.

**^o^**

Seven of us were crowded around the circle table, our eyes intent on the object of interest in the middle of it; a vial, filled with a strange blue liquid.

"Essence of Poliak. Said to relieve a vampire of their immortality." Our hooded leader leered at our stunned expressions. "Poliak died before revealing every single ingredient in it, but we have managed to discover them ourselves. And now, we are able to rid the world of vampires forever."

"Excellent, Master," crooned his flaming red-haired (dyed) wife. "Excellent."

"Make any vampire you cross drink it, and they will become human. A powerful, irreversible liquid, one that will help us conquer bloodsuckers forever." The leader reached into his cloak and pulled out several vials. "I advise you all to give these to vampires most needed a dose of humanity."

I nodded when I received mine. I twirled it around between my fingers, watching it ooze from top to bottom like an overfilled lava lamp.

Soon, I thought devilishly, soon.


	14. Chapter 14

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Fourteen**

(**A/N**: Sorry it's been a while. Been busy freaking out about how it's almost the end of August. Eep.

Anyways, the first part is in Celeste's Point of View. The second is Dimitri's.)

* * *

Despite Gareth's best arguments, we grudgingly found ourselves on the road back to Romania. He scowled at Vivacus, Cristian, and me; Emilio refused to meet his eye. While he drove, he muttered profanities and awful opinions between his teeth.

"...Idiotic...All for nothing..."

Cristian wrapped his arm around me, pressing his lips precariously to my forehead. I blushed slightly as Emilio made a gagging face at us.

"Shut up," Cristian said to him.

We were halfway back to Romania when the sky began to lighten. We quickly checked into a motel (not even a hotel, a _motel_) and slept in the closets of our rooms. Unlike the last two hotels, Cristian and I didn't sleep in each other's arms. Cristian apparently didn't know what to do with himself, because Gareth was a good friend of his, but I was his girlfriend. Choosing between us must be hard for him, even though I've told him repeatedly not to separate our group by their opinions.

"I don't know what to do," he told me as we hurried into our closet. "I mean, you're my girlfriend. But Gareth's one of my best friends. Bros before hos, right? But then again, you aren't a ho, so..."

Softly, I said, "Go to sleep."

As he slept, I sat upright against the closet's farthest wall. Every time I closed my eyes, I imagined the havoc that Dimitri and/or his gang of vampire slayers have wreaked while we were gone. Did they already go after the school? And what about our loved ones, who I assume have no idea where we went? Has Dimitri found them, too?

"Impossible," I whispered to myself, mostly for assurance. But nothing I could say would make me feel better about this. By them coming with me, they had endangered their families, left them unguarded. I couldn't live with myself if their families had been attacked - or worse, killed - because of one stupid hasty decision.

Morning quickly turned into afternoon, but I did not feel a single twinge of tiredness. I observed Cristian as he slept, his long nearly-girly eyelashes brush his cheeks slightly. I smiled gently at him, although I knew he could not see it.

Afternoon turned into evening, and Cristian woke up. We quickly rounded up the others and left the hotel.

"Nearly there," Cristian said softly to me. "We're back to where we started. I guess running away did nothing for us."

Gareth scoffed. "Leaving saved our asses."

A silence. Then-

"Leaving was cowardly. We should have fought. Otherwise Sean died for nothing."

Cristian, Vivacus, Gareth, and I stared, shocked, at Emilio, who had just spoken in a full sentence. Not a single slang word in the lot. A first for him, I guess, thanks to the telltale shock.

"What?" Emilio chuckled. "Can't somebody like me speak an actual sentence once in a while?"

"It's strange, coming from you," Cristian said.

**^o^**

I scratched irritably under the black wig I donned over my blue hair. I would like nothing more than to take it off and unleash my waves of blue, but I couldn't. I have a plan to follow.

Holding a bouquet of black roses, I grinned innocently at the hospital receptionist.

"I'm looking for my mother," I said smoothly. "Surname: Sterling."

The receptionist beamed at me. "Oh, that's so sweet of you. Room ninety-two, second floor."

As I stepped into the elevator, I pulled the vial of Essence of Poliak out of my pocket. The thick blue liquid moved slowly as I turned it, hidden behind the roses so the elevator's security camera would not see it.

My plan was to deliver the roses to Celeste's mother (whom I attacked, but thanks to the wig I am unrecognizable), strike up a conversation with her, and leave. The liquid will not be used yet. It is far too precious to waste on a hospitalized leech.

The door slithered open, and I quickly found room ninety-two. I knocked on the door two seconds before entering, expecting to see a nurse or her husband by her bedside. Instead, she was alone.

"Hello," she said uncertainly. "I'm afraid you're in the wrong room."

I chuckled. "You are Mrs. Sterling, right?"

She nodded, looking anxious. "Who are you?"

"My name's Jason Hallaway," I lied through my teeth. "I work at the Book Nook. I'm a friend of Celeste."

Mrs. Sterling sat straight up. "Oh. That's...good." I could tell she was calculating through her head why I was coming to give her flowers.

"I come only to speak to you," I said smoothly, sitting down on an armchair placed beside the bed. "To offer my best wishes. People have been talking about...your condition." I brandished the bouquet to her.

Her face flushed. Taking the flowers in her hand, she said in awe, "Who has been talking?"

"Many people. The Bat Bar is buzzing." I snickered. "I'm just wondering, how is Celeste, anyways? I haven't seen her in a while."

Mrs. Sterling coughed. "Well, she's...erm...flown the coop. Left the house with no explanation." She bit her lip worriedly.

I gasped in a way that hopefully sounded like I didn't know that. "Do you have any idea where?"

She shook her head, looking away from me. Her attention was on the rose petals. But her muttering was quite audible.

"We're both worried, her father and I. She's never done something like this. Even Vladimir is concerned."

"Vladimir?" I raised my eyebrows. "Vladimir Mitchell?"

"Yes." Her tone was dreamlike. "I know his father. Vladimir's been quite worried about Celeste's whereabouts as well. I suppose so, since she hasn't been here for four days...He showed up at our doorstep a few days ago, asking to see her."

"For what?" This Vladimir character could be great use to me, if I manipulated the situation quite right...

Mrs. Sterling looked flustered. "He wanted to ask her to the Winter Dance. You know all about it, I presume?"

"Um, I'm afraid I don't follow." This was getting interesting.

"Every year, her school - or yours, if you attend her school as well - hosts the Winter Dance." She furrowed her eyebrows. "How do you not know this? It's the talk of all us..." Her voice trailed off.

I headed out of the hospital room, not even looking back at her. I knew she was startled due to my sudden leave, but I couldn't sit through another monologue. I had information. Information I've been lusting for since I came here.

A Winter Dance, full of vampires. And all I came here for was for Celeste's whereabouts. Like losing a penny and finding a thousand dollars.

I pulled out my cell phone, grinning gleefully. I dialled. After a few seconds, they answered.

"What is it, Dimitri?" snapped the leader of my group.

Smoothly, I responded, "I have a plan to rid Romania of its vampire teenagers."


	15. Chapter 15

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Fifteen**

(**A/N**: This is one of the most crucial chapters of With A Side Of Blood. If you don't like spoilers for the rest of the story, then you can skip it, but I advise you don't. It'll explain a lot in the end.)

* * *

We all sat in our seats, tapping our fingers impatiently on the wooden tabletop. My sister Florentine scowled at me, no doubt practicing the look she would send to any vampires in her way. The leader's wife bit her fingernails, looking worriedly at the door every two seconds in hopes he'll return in the blink of an eye.

After I'd called the leader, he had told us to stay put until he'd retrieved Vladimir Mitchell. He said that it would be easy, having met Vladimir's father at the Bat Bar and, after quite an astounding amount of drinks, had revealed where he resided.

The door swung open, and our hooded leader swooped in, accompanied by two of our strongest members. The two members were holding a struggling teenage boy steady.

"Welcome to the Elite Group of Specially Trained Vampire Slayers Headquarters," our leader said grandly to the boy. "Sit him down, and rope and gag him," he added to the two members.

The two members did what he ordered.

"My esteemed apprentice Dimitri-" he shot a pointed look of recognition at me "-has told me of a grand plan that will take place at the blood-sucking school. But before we make any plans at all, we'll need to confirm it. Which is why we having this leech here." He gestured to Vladimir, who scowled at him despite the dishrag that had been stuffed in his mouth.

The leader carefully pulled out the dishrag and set it on the dusty table surface. "Hello, there. Your name, I hear from Dimitri, is Vladimir."

Vladimir merely scowled.

"Do you confirm or deny that there is a vampire school here?" our leader demanded to know. "Answer me, or I will forcibly remove your tongue!"

Vladimir glared at him before spitting out, "I'm not telling you lot. Now let me out of here. As soon as I'm out of here, I'll tell my-"

"I'm afraid I cannot do that. You see, I have to confirm our suspicions, and one of them is that there is a Winter Dance being held at the vampire school this upcoming Friday. Is that right?"

"What's in it for me?" Vladimir asked rudely. "Why should I sell out my school?"

Our leader pointed to the uncovered window at the opposite side of the room. "Well, you see, it's night _now_, but if this takes too long and you don't give us answers, it'll be light. And you know, you vampires and light..." He brushed his long index finger horizontally on his neck. "But if you tell us what we want to know, we'll untie you."

Vladimir hotly said, "I don't-"

"What? Do you want a side of blood to go with it, too? Your last meal, before your execution?" The leader raised his eyebrows at the startled vampire, and quietly began again, in a soothing, almost crooning, voice.

"So tell us. Is there a Winter Dance being held at the vampire school this Friday?" He glared at the boy.

Vladimir, obviously shaken by this, nodded.

Our leader then inquired, "What time does it start, Vladimir?"

"Seven o'clock in the evening," Vladimir said quickly, "It's the only way any of the students can attend, seeing as we're...you know. Nearly mandatory, though, the dance. The administration wants all of the students attending. Said so themselves a couple of days ago."

The leader sprang up. "Excellent." He nodded at me. "Now that we have that confirmed, take him away. Not back, _away_."

"_Away_?" Vladimir's eyes filled with surprise. "No! You said you'd untie me!"

"And we did," the leader crooned with satisfaction. With a single gesture to his henchmen, he whispered, "Boys, could you...?"

"You can't do this-!"

The two members who had brought him in easily dragged him out. The door slammed shut behind them, leaving the rest of us in silence.

Slowly, Florentine raised her hand.

"Yes, Miss Bavard?" the leader said.

"Well," Florentine said boldly, "what's our plan? Why do we need to know of a Winter Dance? Do we plan on attending it in disguises?"

Our leader smirked. "Why don't you explain it, Dimitri? You were the mastermind behind it, anyways."

I cleared my throat, aware that the entire group was looking at me with fond eyes.

"Our plan," I began, "is to infiltrate the school. At precisely seven o'clock, the younger part of our group - nineteen and younger, please - will enter the dance, and discreetly fill the refreshments with Essence of Poliak."

Florentine grinned at me. The leader's wife clapped her hand excitedly. Other people exchanged looks.

"After the students - and perhaps even some of the faculty and chaperones, if we're lucky - drink it, they will turn into humans. Phase one complete.

"Phase two is when the older part of our group - twenty and up - enter. You lot will destroy any remaining vampires, while the younger part will go after the new humans. They'll be so confused, the killing will be easy. And since that boy said that the school's administration wants all or most of its students to attend, it'll save us a good load of time. Kill off a few hundred of them in one night. What do you reckon?"

Our leader clapped. "Excellent work, Dimitri. You will make an excellent leader to us someday. Now, I hope none of you have used your Essence of Poliak, but if you have it's all right, seeing as I've got plenty more here..." He pulled out quite a few full vials of blue liquid. "The dance is in two days. Sharpen any stakes we have. Practice your fighting, scowling, and taunts. In two days, we fight. Romania will be ours."


	16. Chapter 16

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Sixteen**

(**A/N**: This chapter is all Celeste's. You'll have to do a bit of guesswork, considering I decided to skip the whole parental confrontation (it would have been a snoozer, believe me!), so good luck with that. Just a few more chapters before the big fight scene, so be prepared.)

* * *

Being back in Romania wasn't as good as I thought it would be. Of course, it was probably because I knew Dimitri was around here, and he knew where I lived.

When Cristian reluctantly dropped me off at my house, my father were waiting for me. Mom, it turned out, had gone to the hospital in my absence, and therefore was not there to chastise me. Dad was inexplicably furious that I'd gone, so he'd channeled Mom's anger in there as well as his own.

But my father, although being modern, didn't give me a punishment. Never once in his anger did he tell me that I was to stay in my room, that I couldn't go near any technology without his express permission, or that I was grounded from leaving the house unless it was necessary.

Dad took me to the hospital to visit Mom, who was quietly twirling several black roses between her fingers.

"Where'd you get those?" I asked.

Mom, smiling gently, said, "A boy around your age came to visit. Asked me a bit about your school, and was surprised to hear about the dance. It seemed like he likes you."  
I raised an eyebrow. Cristian couldn't have been fast enough to come here. He probably was only halfway to his house now. And besides, he already knew about the dang dance.

"What did he say his name was?" I asked curiously.

Mom, preoccupied with petting the petals, whispered, "Jason Hallaway."

Jason from the Book Nook? _He_ liked me? But he had never approached me in school, despite the fact that we had some classes together. And moreover, he knew Dimitri from the party brawl. Why would Jason give my mother flowers and ask about our school? He should already know about the dance, so why would he ask?

"Bit strange, that boy was," Mom said quietly. "His brown eyes were twinkling when he heard about the dance."

Brown? From what I know about Jason (very little), he has black eyes, not brown. But perhaps my mother was still half-asleep when she met him. Maybe she'd seen his eyes differently.

**^o^**

"Are you in trouble?" Cristian asked worriedly. "I didn't mean to get you in so much trouble."

Cristian and I were talking on the phone in hushed tones. It felt comforting to talk to him. I hadn't gone to school the past night, but I was expected to go tomorrow, and then to the dance.

"What are you talking about? I'm the one who should be sorry. I met the bastard. I made this all happen." I sighed loudly. "Look, can we talk tomorrow? I'm tired."

Cristian chuckled. "Good night, Celeste."

"Sleep tight." I hung up and buried myself under the covers of my bed. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

**^o^**

_I was walking along the thick forest that surrounded our cleverly hidden school. The only sound I could hear was the snapping of twigs under my bare feet. My feet ached and bled, but I kept moving. I couldn't stop._

_ I was dressed in a thick black gown, made mostly of taffeta, lace, and satin. It was quite racy, and incredibly beautiful at the same time. I held the matching heels in one hand. I couldn't stop long enough to pull them on._

_ Finally, the school came into view. The front door opened and Cristian stepped out, looking spectacular in a black tuxedo. His hair was combed for once, but one shake of his head ruined it._

_ "Celeste," he cried out. But it wasn't a loving cry, full of longing and passion. Instead, it sounded like his last gasp._

_ He dropped like a stone, flailing down the stone steps of the school. I ran quickly to him, aware that my feet oozed even more blood with every step. By the time I reached him, he was dead._

_ "Cristian!" I cried out. "Wake up! You can't- You can't-"_

_ His eyes opened, startling me. I gasped, but I was grateful to see him breathing._

_ "Cristian!" I wrapped my arms around him, kissing his cheek. "I was worried..."_

_ I stopped talking when I realized that he felt different. Weird, somehow. Warmer than what I expected. Something was off about him._

_ "Celeste?" he murmured. "Is that...you?"_

_ "Yes," I answered, brushing his hair away from his eyes. "I'm here. Everything's going to be fine, Cristian."_

_ He smiled weakly at me. But then his eyes darted away from my face, beyond my shoulder, and he tried to sit up._

_ "Don't!" he yelled._

_ Dimitri, standing just a few feet away, was holding a bow. He had a stake positioned on it, aimed directly at Cristian's chest._

I sat up, gasping for air. My dream was so realistic, so visually dynamic that I was surprised for a second that it was not real.

I glanced at the clock. Two minutes past seven. Time for me to get ready for school.


	17. Chapter 17

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Seventeen**

(**A/N**: First two parts are Celeste's, and then the last is Dimitri's. We're nearing the climax. Just thought you'd like to know.)

* * *

Cristian and I sat beside each other, carefully texting under our desks while Ms. Baggoti made a big deal out of something I didn't care enough to listen to.

It seemed strange that days ago Cristian was winking at me like a pervert, and I had hated him. But now, we're pretty much exchanging half-dirty, half-joking looks every minute.

The news of us dating spread around the school like Nutella on toast. Delia, surprisingly, was fine with it, having met "a gorgeous guy that would make Cristian look like a toad". Her words, not mine. Octavia wasn't happy to see her brother back, because she's been flirting with his friends while he's been away.

Gareth and Emilio refused to speak about our adventures, especially since we saw Mrs. Munster posting HAVE YOU SEEN MY SON? posters around the city. We don't know when or if we're going to tell her what happened.

I smiled at Cristian's latest text, a faint blush creeping on my cheeks.

Want 2 go 2 the dance w/ me?

I didn't hesitate to respond.

Idk...

I watched as Cristian's eyebrows furrowed in determination as he quickly typed a reply. As soon as he pressed SEND, he pretended to look interested at what was going on at the front of the class.

Come on. Plz?

I let out an exaggerated, I-can't-believe-I'm-about-to-do-this sigh.

Fine.

The bell rang, and Cristian and I hopped out of our seats faster than anybody else. As I packed up my books, I saw Jason Hallaway quietly tucking away his with a blank expression on his face.

"Walk you to next class?" Cristian offered.

I smiled. "In a second. I need to speak with Hallaway."

Cristian raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. He stood beside my desk as I hurried towards Jason.

Jason was surprised to see me. "Uh, hello?" he said reluctantly. He looked down at his bag, refusing to meet my gaze.

"Hey, Hallaway," I said as friendly as I could due to the circumstances. "Can I ask you something?"

He snickered. "You just did."

I rolled my eyes. "Okay, well I'm going to ask the real question now. Why did you give my mother flowers at the hospital?"

Jason finally looked up then, surprised. "What?"

"You gave my mother black roses," I remarked. "I'm just wondering why." I gazed into his eyes, noting down that they were a definite black.

"I didn't give your mother flowers." Jason raised an eyebrow. "Who told you that?"

"My mother. She was holding them. She said that you went to the hospital, gave her roses, and then asked her about the school and the dance." I was confused now. How come Jason didn't know about this?

Jason shrugged. "I never gave your mother flowers, Celeste. I don't know if your mother was delirious when she had a visitor or something, but I'm certain that I never gave her flowers. I have heard about her condition, though. Must be rough."

And with that, he left the classroom.

**^o^**

"I just don't understand," I said softly. "My mother specifically said that Jason Hallaway gave her the flowers and asked about the school dance."

Cristian, sitting beside me on his bed, shrugged. "This is incredibly weird. Maybe he was just embarrassed that you knew."

"I don't think he would be. I mean, he works at the Book Nook. He can't be embarrassed of anything." I placed my head on Cristian's shoulder. "I don't know what to do."

Cristian patted my head affectionately. "Don't worry about it. Hey, the dance is tomorrow. Why don't we just shove everything aside and have a good time?"

I looked at him. "You're acting awfully strange."

He laughed. "Well, for the first time in my life, I am not being forced to go to a dance by some cleavage-baring bimbo. I'm actually going to enjoy myself. And I want you to enjoy yourself, too." He rubbed his head against mine playfully.

My voice was wry. "Fine."

He glanced at the clock. Nearly five A.M.

"I'd better get you home before you actually do get in trouble," he said softly.

**^o^**

Tomorrow, Romanian vampires will bow down to us. We have all discussed. No prisoners, no mercy, no time to waste.

My leader, being drunk as hell, was celebrating before the big night. He was singing in a dreamlike voice, the Tomorrow song frm that Annie musical, only some of the lyrics were different.

_The vamps are all out_

_Tomorrow_

_Bet your bottom dollar_

_That tomorrow_

_There'll be blood!_

I'd added an extra step to my plan. Instead of slipping into the dance solo, I would "attend" it with a student. I had waited outside the school two days ago, right before the last bell rang, and I had "bumped" into a fairly attractive and popular teenage vampire girl. I'd struck up a conversation with her, and soon enough I'd turned the topic to the dance. She was ecstatic that I had asked her. I would have to pick her up at her house, of course, but it would be an advantage to go with an actual vampire. Make it look more authentic.

While I waited impatiently for tomorrow to come, I decided to take a walk to calm myself. Prepare for the deaths that would soon ruin Romania. Get ready for blood - human _and_ vampire - to be spilled and streaked all over the school.

I was walking past a particular row of houses when I heard her voice. Twinkling bells, as beautiful a voice can get.

Celeste.

I hid behind a tree, watching Celeste and one of the boys who'd come into her house nights ago talk.

"...We'll be safe, don't worry," I heard him assure her. "Nothing's going to go wrong tomorrow. I swear on my life."

Her voice made my stomach plummet. She sounded happier than I'd ever heard her.

"All right." The sound of lips pressing together loudly. "Let's go."

And I heard car doors closing, an engine revving, and then the sound of tires squealing on the road. I stepped out from behind the tree, thinking.

She was going to the dance tomorrow. With another vampire dude, no less. It disgusted me, for a second, that I could be killing her in less than twenty-four hours.

But I quickly shook the guilt away. Why should I feel bad? She's a bloodsucker, a filthy bastard of the world. She - and her date - deserve to be killed.

I may have liked her at one point, but that doesn't mean I should go soft on her now. I have work to do. People to kill. Lives to end.

I turned and headed back to Headquarters, ignoring the strangely loud tell-tale beating of my heart.


	18. Chapter 18

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Eighteen**

(**A/N**: Nearing the climax! This is a short chapter, in Celeste's point of view.)

My mom was released from the hospital late last night. My dad, feeling guilty about God knows what, stuck around her for the rest of the night, trying to stay upbeat.

I still had no idea why somebody said that they were Jason Hallaway, and had visited my mom in the hospital. But that wasn't a problem compared to my current situation: dress choosing.

"Argh!" I buried my face in my hands as I stared at the five dresses hanging in my closet. "This is impossible!"

My mother stepped into the room. "Celeste, what's wrong?" She sat down beside me on my bed.

"Mom, I don't have a dress to wear to the dance," I said softly. "And Cristian's going to be here any minute! What am I going to do?"

Mom looked at the dresses, rolling her eyes at the pastel colours. "Let me find something for you." She left my room quietly and returned, two minutes later (which actually felt like a million), holding three dresses.

One of them was a black tube dress, with a heart-shaped neckline. "You can wear this with leggings or high socks," Mom said.

Another was strapless, pure white with a full skirt. On the skirt, sparkling lace patches shaped like snowflakes shimmered.

The last one was made of satin, lace, taffeta, and silk. Coloured ebony, soft as a spiderweb, and thick. It had a corsetted top with tiny cutouts along the waist. Identical to the dress I'd seen in my nightmare.

I wordlessly picked it up and stared at it. Should I wear this? If I wear it, would my nightmare come true?

"It's beautiful," Mom commented. "I never got around to wearing it, though."

I smiled. "I like it. Do you have any heels to go with it?"

**^o^**

The doorbell. Usually hearing it means, "Somebody's at the door." But on special occasions, like today, it means, "OMG WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU GOING TO DO DID YOU PUT ON YOUR MAKEUP AND POP SOME BREATH MINTS" etc.

Dad opened the door. Cristian stood there, grinning, holding a black rose corsage (I'd texted him that I wanted a black rose).

"Good evening, sir," Cristian said grandly. "I believe we've met before. But I'll introduce myself again. I am Cristian Costellano."

"Hello, Cristian," Dad said lightly. "Well, I suppose you're here for my daughter, then."

"Yes, sir," Cristian responded. "I'll have her back at, say, two?"

"That would be acceptable," Dad tried. "But seeing as you're being respectable today, why don't you make it three?"

"Thank you, sir."

Dad waved me over. I walked towards the door as quickly as the heels would allow me. I saw Cristian's face lighten, his smile growing.

"See you later, sweetie," Dad said. He eyed Cristian's car with interest, right before closing the door.


	19. Chapter 19

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Nineteen**

(**A/N**: As anticipated... Part one of the climax. Very short, considering that I have absolutely no time at all right now.

This chapter will be in Dimitri's point of view entirely. I hope this lives up to its hype! Review, please!)

* * *

Black tuxedo: check.

Blue hair, strategically messed up like a badass who had just woken up: check

Stupid vampire bimbo in a slutty dress because she thinks we're going to sleep together after this: check.

I grinned at myself in the rearview mirror as the car winded down a spinning road. The vampire girl I'd gotten as my date giggled, unaware that I was not listening.

"...And then Cameron asked me to the dance, but I told him that I was going with you. He was so pissed. He said that he would fight for me." The girl giggled again.

Why, oh why, did I get this chick, out of all the vampires? The one that wouldn't shut up? The only good part of this is that I can easily see down the front of her dress. And even then that's kind of not impressive, since I'm pretty sure she's a stuffer.

"Nearly there," I drawled.

The girl stopped talking for a second, realizing that my mouth had moved. But quickly, she resumed. "Like I was saying..."

I gritted my teeth and endured the next ten minutes of the ride. Finally, we were in front of the vampire school. I saw couples getting out of cars (not a single limousine in sight, however; strange school, this), but not a single one of them stood out to me. They were all going to die tonight, anyways.

We stepped out of my car and headed to the front doors. The girl smiled smugly at me when several boys stared in her direction.

"Whoo!" One guy called, and wolf-whistled.

"Lookin' hot!" called out another.

My date giggled. "Can you believe this?"

I rolled my eyes. "They're not looking at you. They're looking past you, see?"

And I turned my head to where they were looking. Instantly, I felt the need to scream out a compliment, perverted or not, to the girl.

Celeste.

Draped in a breathtaking dress that showcased her curves, she easily was the belle of the ball. She smiled at her callers, but was firmly attached to a boy's arm. The same boy who she was talking to last night, I bet.

"Beautiful," I muttered.

But then I saw Florentine, accompanied by one of the younger vampire hunters, and she looked seriously at me. The plan flowed back into my head, and suddenly the four vials in my pockets felt heavy and hard to drag along.

**^o^**

As soon as we were in, I excused myself from my chatting date. I headed over to the bowl of punch (at least, I hope it was punch; then again, this _is _a vampire school) and quickly poured the Essence of Poliak (four vials worth) into it. It looked strange at first, red slathered in blue goo, but quickly changed back to its reddish hue.

The damage was done. Now, it's time to watch the vampires squirm.

For extra measure, I poured a cupful and headed back to my date, who was now sitting down on one of the grey folding chairs. She grinned wickedly at me, but her eyes were focused elsewhere.

"What are you looking at?" I asked gently, sitting beside her. Handing her the glass, she sipped it, still staring in a different direction.

"Nowhere." She stared into my eyes, finishing off the drink. "Let's go dance."

As we headed to the dance floor, I saw the rest of the young vampire hunters entering the room. They gestured subtly to the punch bowl and I nodded.

Most of the vampire students were already drinking cups of the punch with curious expressions on their faces. Then suddenly, their deathly pale skin turned light pink, as if there was human blood flowing in the veins and arteries under their skin. I saw some of them grabbing at their faces, shrieking with agony. My date, as well, was turning bright pink, and was gasping slightly.

The vampire hunters in the room grinned at the reactions, heading towards the blushing now-humans.

Showtime.

I pulled a stake out of my pants pocket and shoved it right into my date's chest. She looked at me, still gasping, her blue eyes widening. Now that she was human, she would feel that far more than a vampire could.

"You sneak," she whispered weakly, shortly before collapsing. Blood from her chest blossomed onto her dress, catching the attention of the remaining vampires.

Using this distraction, the vampire hunters sprang into action. They pulled out stakes and slammed them into the now-humans chests. The remaining vampires tried to tear themselves away from their peers' bleeding bodies, but some of them couldn't; one even started drinking another's blood in front of their disgusted classmates.

After stabbing a skanky leech to death, I looked up. Celeste, all the way across the room, stared back. Her and her date had steered clear from the punch, according to their still deathly pale skin and looks of terror.

My Celeste. I looked at a stranger now. A stranger that, despite the hate I easily received from her, I might still love.

Her date stared at me, with hate in his brooding eyes. As if challenging me to go to him and fight.

Pulling the blood-soaked stake from the dead leech-gone-bloody, I headed over to them. If he was going to dangle Celeste in front of me, he's going to have to pay.


	20. Chapter 20

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Twenty**

(A/N: First part is Celeste's point of view. Second part (the tiny part) is Dimitri's.

The climax drags on...)

* * *

"Whoo!"

"Lookin' hot!"

"Ow, ow!"

Snide comments from my male peers made me blush as much as a half-vamp, half-human could. I turned to Cristian, whose eyes were admitted at the neckline of my dress.

"Can you believe this?" I whispered. "So many people!"

Cristian tore his eyes away from my chest. "Yeah, and a good portion of them are wolf-whistling at you."

I nudged him. "But I'm here with you, not them, so don't worry about it, okay? Like you said twenty times before, everything's going to be all right."

Cristian sucked in a breath, just in time for Octavia and Emilio to pass by. We nodded at him, and I waggled my fingers at Octavia.

"Let's go in," Cristian said. "I'm going to make you dance to a Miley Cyrus song."

"God forbid!" I laughed as we headed inside.

The gymnasium was covered in black and red decor. Floating balloons and streamers dangled from the dusky ceiling. A long silver table propped up right against the wall showcased a series of vampire treats, with the biggest bowl full to burst of blood punch.

"Want something to drink?" Cristian asked.

"No thanks. I drank before you picked me up." I patted my tiny black handbag. "Besides, I've got a bottle of pure A negative if there's a line."

Cristian's mouth broke out into a big smile. "So, you wanna dance?"

I looked at the dance floor, which was not nearly as packed as the refreshments table.

"Sure," I finally said, dragging him onto the dance floor. "Get my mind off of this skintight dress."

Cristian laughed. "It's a great dress. You look amazing." He placed his hands on my waist, his fingers grazing the delicate skin that was exposed by the cutouts. "You're beautiful."

I leaned in to give him a thank-you peck, when a loud shriek made me jump. We turned to look at where it had came from, and saw a horrific sight.

Dimitri stood, looking satisfied, as Delia (his date?) let out a cry of pain. Then it looked like he'd just pressed his fist against her chest. But I knew it was something more. It should have just been her turning into dirt. But instead, she was on the floor, blood flowing out of the wound a wooden stake had made...

Why would she bleed? Why isn't she sand?

A considerably large group of people ran forward and immediately brandished more wooden stakes.

Vampire slayers. This is what Dimitri had been planning all along, wasn't it?

Suddenly it became clear. The strange hospital visit - it wasn't Jason. It was Dimitri. Last night, I'd known there was somebody in the shadows watching me while I was at Cristian's, but I shook it off. But he was still here, so it must have been him.

The people surrounding the refreshments table screeched with agony as they got slammed with stakes. Blood gushed fresh from their wounds.

Instantly, I saw a problem. The blood. So much blood. How is anybody holding themselves back?

I turned to Cristian, whose eyes were now focused on a girl not fifteen feet away. She'd been stabbed, and her blood was pooling on her snow-white gown.

"She smells like a human," he whispered desperately. "She smells so good."

"Human?" That girl happened to be Tina MacPherson, a keener in my history class. She was one hundred percent vampire.

I looked back at the refreshment table. Dimitri stood there, having just stabbed Octavia to death. We locked eyes, and for a moment, I felt extreme hurt. Hurt, pain, and absolute hate.

How had I loved him?

A voice from the back of my mind answered, _Because you loved him. That's that. You did love him once. Maybe you still do._

I shook that thought out of my head.

"Filthy bastard," I heard Cristian mutter from beside me. "I can't believe he's doing this. We'd better go and warn the rest of the city." He grabbed my arm and pulled me out of the room.

**^o^**

Celeste. My Celeste.

She was being pulled out of the school by her asshole of a date. I was following close behind, calculating the proper way to jump them. Just as they were getting into his car?

Probably. As soon as he's getting to his side, I'll slam this stake into that motherfucker and take off with Celeste. She'll forgive me...eventually.

They stepped out the front doors, hurrying down the front steps, and were halfway to the car. I couldn't wait anymore. I threw the stake as hard and powerful as I could, aiming directly at the boy's back.


	21. Chapter 21

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Twenty-One**

(**A/N**: Yet another anticipated chapter! Part three of my annoyingly cliffhanger-y climax.

This will be in Celeste's point of view.)

* * *

Cristian stopped. Just...stopped. Halfway towards the car, he froze like an ice sculpture. His expression was pained, as if...

I stared at the wooden stake that protruded out of him. Oh God, no. I turned back to the school, where Dimitri stood. His contrasting blue hair, stuck up like a mad scientist after one of his experiments blew up in his face, made me feel nauseous.

"Celeste," he said softly.

Beside me, Cristian stared. His expression was pained. But why wasn't he dusting? Why isn't he a pile of dirt by my feet?

"Damn it," Dimitri whispered. "Hit his inner arm."

Like Dimitri said, he hadn't pieced Cristian's side at all. Instead, his stake's pointed edge had embedded itself into the innermost part of his arm, and stayed there.

Cristian let out a tiny yelp.

"Tug...it...out..." he gasped. "Please..."

I took hold of the stake, ignoring the tiny splinters that entered my fingertips, and pulled with all my might. It flew out of his arm and clattered to the ground.

As soon as it was out, Cristian seemed to have regained his energy. He turned, anger in his brooding blue eyes, and scowled at Dimitri.

"Why won't you _die_?" yelled Dimitri. "Why aren't you gone?"

"Because a) your throwing aim sucks balls, b) I'm not an idiot, and c) I'm still here, and always will be." Cristian grinned wolfishly. "You're a monster."

"Excuse me? _You're_ the monster. You bite people for their blood. You kill people. You ruin their family members' lives." Dimitri sneered.

"Is that what your group of slayers told you? Because it's not true. It's not!" I exclaimed, surprising the two boys. "We don't drain people of their blood. We have some blood, taken from the recently deceased. We don't want to kill people."

Dimitri stopped sneered. All of a sudden, his tone was softer, quieter. He spoke to me like how he used to; back in the bookstore, outside of the ice cream parlour, on our dates.

"Celeste," he whispered. "You don't need to be a vampire anymore. I found an antidote. You can be like me. Come over here, okay? Step away from _him_. Come to me. Everything will be all right."

Was he seriously going to make me choose between him and Cristian?

If he'd asked me several days ago, I would have definitely chosed him. Back then, Cristian was a nuisance, a boy who winked at me whenever we briefly looked at each other. I hated him (but secretly adored him), and he liked me.

But now Cristian and I are together. Things have definitely changed for us. We've kissed. We nearly had sex. We're together now.

"No," I replied softly. "No, Dimitri. I can't be with you. I can't be like you."

Dimitri protested, "You don't understand! As soon as you pick me, this war will be over! I'll make the others spare the rest of the leeches. We'll leave this place forever. Just...please."

"'Leeches'?" I looked at a stranger. "Who _are_ you?"

"The boy who loves you," Dimitri gently responded. "The boy whom you had fallen for long before this stiff snatched you up like the rotten monster he is. Deep down, you love me still."

My lips trembled. Two voices in my head began to debate.

_He wants you back_.

But he's a vampire slayer!

_He'll turn you into somebody normal. You won't be the one-of-a-kind girl anymore_.

But he's a vampire slayer! He could kill me anyways!

_But he loves you._

Cristian loves me more. I bet Dimitri's lying!

_But you love him, too_.

I pressed my lips together, tears spilling down my face. This was all overwhelming.

Inside of the school, people are dying. Innocent vampires, who had no idea about the vampire slayers until tonight. He did say that if I went with him, he'd stop the fight.

But if I left with him, Cristian would be torn. Destroyed. Hurt forever. And I don't want Cristian to be like that. I want him to be happy.

I don't want to hurt anybody else anymore, I realized. I don't want to ruin people's lives. I don't want to hurt. I want to stop the hurt.

I turned to Cristian. He stared back at me, his blue eyes searching my face for any hint to my answer.

I pressed my lips serenely against his. As I slowly pulled away, I whispered into his mouth, "I love you. Please don't be mad."

And I closed the distance between Dimitri and me. As I did, his smile grew. As soon as I was standing next to him, he pulled out a walkie-talkie and declared the fight officially over.

I couldn't bear to look at Cristian's expression. I knew that he would be mad at me, no matter what I do or say.

The sound of a car door slamming, a car engine revving, finally made me turn. Cristian was in the car, speeding away to notify the rest of Romania.

What we planned to do together, just five minutes ago.

It's amazing how things change in less than an hour.

Dimitri slid an arm around my waist, making me shudder. "It's all right," he cooed. "It's all over. We're going to leave now, and I'm going to help you. I'll save you."

I wept silently.

**^o^**

The vampire slayers' headquarters wasn't nearly as neat as I thought it would be. Dimitri had promised me that it would be comforting, relaxing, and cozy, but it was just messy. It stank of evil plans.

"We're going to cure you," Dimitri assured. "You'll be like me soon. We'll be together." A grin spread over his face. "We'll be together for a long time. We'll fight vampires together - that is, if you want to - and we'll grow up together. Then we'll marry and have a lot of me's and you's."

I mumbled, "Great."

My thoughts were still with Cristian. Where was he now? Was he saving the rest of Romania? Was his mind plagued with thoughts of me, like mine was of him?

And what about the other boys? Were Emilio, Gareth, and Vivacus all right, or did they drink the human-making punch? Did they die in the hands of one of Dimitri's friends?

We entered a dark room. In the middle of it was a single lamp, standing on a mahogany table. Its light was weak, barely illuminating the floor.

"I thought you'd like a dark atmosphere when you change," Dimitri remarked. "I know it must be hard for you to do this. But we'll be together soon."

Beside the lamp was a small glass. It seemed to be full of a blue liquid. I stared at it, wondering if I should really go through with this.

"Drink up," Dimitri encouraged. "Soon, you'll be normal."

Normal. Was this normal for him?

Yes, my brain answered immediately. Yes, it was.

I held the glass in my hand, wordlessly staring at the goop. Ingesting it wouldn't be difficult, but it certainly would feel weird. Like swallowing the insides of a lava lamp.

Dimitri smiled, then leaned forward and pressed his lips against my cheek. Before, that gesture made me blush. Now, it scorched my skin.

I shakily said, "Bottoms up."

Dimitri grinned. "Drink up, Celeste. I love you."

I raised the glass to my lips.


	22. Chapter 22

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Twenty-Two**

(**A/N**: Cliffys are my style. Don't hate, appreciate.

The first part is Cristian's point of view. The second part is Celeste's. Third, and most dramatically, is Dimitri's.)

* * *

That bitch. That horrible, evil, conniving little bitch. After all that's happened...he still tried to get to her. And she fell for it! Why would she do that?

Numbly, I pressed my right hand's fingertips against my lips, remembering our last kiss. It was soft. Indulgent. And incredibly horrifying.

"I love you," Celeste had said. "Please don't be mad."

But how could I not be mad? My Celeste. My girlfriend. This was insane. What was she trying to achieve, going off with a vampire slayer? Did she really believe him when he told her that she could be human? That she could be his definition of normal?

My Celeste.

The engine roared, alerting me of how fast I was going. Nearly 120. I'd better slow down before I crash.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck," I whispered under my breath. That was all I could say.

I'd just left my Celeste with that staking asshole. Who knows what he'll do to her? Sure, he said that he'll change her into a human. But when? After he forces her into his bed? After he steals kisses from her pouty, Cupid's-Bow lips?

My grip on the steering wheel tightened. No, I told myself. I could not let him do that. Not to my Celeste. The love of my life.

Yes, love. She was my love. I'd told her that once, and I'll say it again. I love her. I love her. I love her.

My thoughts began swirling. I'd left her with Dimitri, the backstabbing (literally) ex boyfriend. What if he somehow actually turned her human, and she became attracted to him? I'd never stand a chance against him.

What did she even like about him in the first place? His annoying blue hair, which looked like he'd thrown a Smurf and a Chia plant in a blender and then wore the concoction on his head? His annoying smirk?

Oh, wait. That smirk would be mine.

I pulled a fast U-turn, scaring the shit out of the guy driving steadfastly behind my car. I shot him a thumbs-up as I sped the opposite way, back to the city.

No more running. No more hiding. This is war.

**^o^**

I raised the glass to my lips again, and once again the nerve I had worked up shot down. I placed the cup back onto the mahogany table and let out a disappointed exhale.

"I can't do it," I moaned. "I just can't. I can't stop being what I am, Dimitri."

Dimitri sighed. "Drink up," he said in what he thought was an encouraging tone. "Then you and me will be together."

"I can't!" I wailed.

"Goddamn it, Celeste, just drink!" roared Dimitri. He grabbed the glass and stuck it right under my sniffling nose. "If you don't drink it, I was forcibly pour it down your thraot. I don't care for your snivelling little ass right now."

"Stop it!" I cried, more tears spilling down my cheeks. "Why are you being like this?"

"Just drink the goddamn thing!" Dimitri yelled. "Drink it!"

"I can't-"

The door opened. Standing there, glowering at us, was a teenage girl. She looked familiar, like I'd seen her before. Then the sequins from her long blue dress caught my eye, and then I remembered. She was at the dance tonight. One of the slayers.

Judging from how she looked, she was Dimitri's sister or mother (but probably sister). Her black hair and brown eyes glistened despite the darkness. She had Dimitri's high cheekbones and (much thinner, but pretty much the same) eyebrows.

The girl yawned. "Will you guys keep it down? We're trying to get some rest before we rampage again!"

"You can't rampage again!" Dimitri shouted. "That wasn't part of my plan!"

"You told your plan to the leader. It's no longer your plan." The girl crossed her arms. "He thinks it was foolish to have left so many people alive. There are witnesses now! We're going to have to disguise ourselves if we want to pull another heist! The leader's frustrated, and he's voicing it like mad. We don't need to hear you guys screeching at each other to our already ringing ears."

Then she saw me. Really saw me. And the cup in Dimitri's hands. Her sleepy frown turned into a devilish smile.

"Are you trying to turn a vampire into a human?" She looked shocked at Dimitri. "The leader will not approve."

"He will in due time," Dimitri muttered. "Now get out of here, Florentine. I have better things to do."

"Yeah, like what?" Her smile grew. "Talk some terrified vamp into converting? This I want to see."

"Go away!" Dimitri yelled. "Just go away, Florentine! I don't want you here! Celeste doesn't want you here! Just go away!"

"Fine!" she shrieked. "But don't think that the leader won't hear about this!" Florentine stormed out, leaving us in a ringing silence.

Slowly, Dimitri turned back to me. His face was determined. Brandishing the cup to me, he urged, "Just drink it."

**^o^**

The door opened again. Florentine, this time accompanied by the leader, swept in.

The leader had his hood down, exposing for the first time his true look. He had dirty reddish brown hair, gray eyes, and perma-scowling lips. Completely different than I'd expected.

He nodded towards Celeste. "Is she the hostage?"

"Yes," I replied belligerently.

The leader blinked. "This isn't what the potion is for."

"I know." I pursed my lips. "But it's a good way to use it."

Beside me, Celeste was shaking. She still hadn't ingested the drink. A major disappointment in my eyes. I had once thought she was a risktaker, somebody who wanted to do things differently. But apparently she was all talk and no walk.

"I don't want to do this," she squeaked.

"Shut up, you," the leader snarled in her direction. She whimpered and cowered behind me.

The leader pulled out a wooden stake, sharpened to a fine point. "Move aside, Dimitri. We need to dispose of her."

I spread out my arms, trying to block all of her from view. "Don't!" I yelled. "Please! She'll be a human soon, I promise!"

"Right," Florentine drawled. "And I'll be Nelly Furtado."

I laughed bitterly. "Whatever, retardo."

The leader growled. "Move aside now! Don't make me kill you, too!"

I stared back. "As if you could do that. Kill your own apprentice. The others would have a field day with this one, don't you think? And the rumours it would start...eventually it would be mutiny..."

"Don't test me, boy," he yelled. "Move aside!"


	23. Chapter 23

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Chapter Twenty-Three**

(**A/N**: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. School's starting soon, so things are getting pretty hectic. Eep.

This chapter is kinda dedicated to Steve Irwin (I know, how random of me!) because he died on September 4th several years ago. He was the best thing on Discovery Channel and I still miss him.

Anyways. This chapter is entirely in Celeste's Point of View.)

* * *

"No!" Dimitri yelled. "I will not move! This is my decision, and I will not let you kill her!"

The redhaired man's eyes widened, as if he hadn't expected Dimitri to speak up. His nostrils flared.

"How dare you say that to me?" the man roared. "I am your leader, therefore you must-"

"You have never led me." Dimitri's voice was dark. "You have never been anything to me. Now let me do this."

"No."

A new voice had echoed around the dim room. A familiar one. I glanced over at the door, only to be both pleasantly surprised and horrified.

Cristian stood there, his arms crossed over his muscular chest. His signature smirk, the exact same one he shot at me merely days ago (only days? It felt like ages), was displayed on his thin face.

"Let her go," he demanded. "Or I'll force myself on you."

The redhaired man laughed. The girl next to him, Dimitri's sister, cowered behind him.

"You idiot," the man hissed at Florentine. "Get him! He's a vampire!"

A vampire in vampire slayers' headquarters. Oh my God. Although Cristian was being chivalrous (and I appreciated it wholeheartedly), this was not wise. He could get staked.

Or even worse, imprisoned and experimented on.

"Why are you here?" I asked him. "This is-"

"Dangerous, yes." Cristian's expression didn't change. "But I don't care. I'm not leaving without you."

"You could die," I hissed.

Dimitri snarled, "He will." He pulled a hidden stake from his pocket and pointed it in Cristian's direction. "I almost succeeded once, Bloody Boy. Don't make me finish off what I started. Go now."

Cristian shook his head stubbornly. "Honestly, I think your threat was delivered poorly. Besides, you can't kill me."

Dimitri raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And how can I not?"

Cristian was still smirking. "Because I've got something that you don't. In fact, Celeste has it, too."

"What do you mean?" the redhaired man asked. "Explain now."

"Celeste," Cristian said, "do you remember when we tried to run away from here?"

I nodded, not understanding where this was going.

"We drank from the flasks we found in Vivacus's car." Cristian grinned wickedly. "Did you know that Vivacus's parents are part of a secret vampire society?"

"This is dragging on," the redhead commented. "Just tell us quickly so we can annihilate you."

Cristian continued, "The flasks contained _treated_ blood. An approved experiment that not only makes the drinker or drinkers stronger, but harder to kill. When Blue Boy stabbed me in the arm, it hurt, but as soon as the stake was out, my body fixed itself. According to Vivacus's mother, whom I found running down the streets looking for him, if any of us gets stabbed with a stake or pushed into a fire, our bodies will repair themselves easily. Plus," Cristian added with a chuckle, "that potion doesn't work on us."

A dead silence followed, as everybody tried registering what he had just said.

Was it true? Or was he stalling? If he was lying, he'd be killed anyways. If it was the truth, would they let us go?

Surely not. We already found them. We're in their own quarters. They will attempt to kill us. And if they don't, they'll tail us until they do.

The redhaired man spoke up. "Interesting. So you expect me to let the girl go, after you've told us such an interesting story?"

I knew what was going on in the man's head. He was taunting us, as if daring us to answer.

But Cristian was lost on this. "Yes," he answered boldly. "Let my Celeste go."

Dimitri straightened up, the stake still pointed at Cristian. "What did you say? Idiot, she's _mine_."

"She's my girlfriend." Cristian laughed. "I don't know what universe you're in, but in this one, she's mine."

Dimitri squared his shoulders. "Come and get her, then."

"More than willing to," Cristian said, practically sashaying towards Dimitri.

The stake in Dimitri's hand suddenly disappeared. He gasped.

It was now being twirled in Cristian's hands.

"Did I mention I'm faster now?" Cristian chuckled. "My bad. I forgot."

The redhaired man took this time to charge at him, only for Cristian to simply push him away.

Florentine stood near the door now, afraid to stay in the room. I watched her as she slipped away, unnoticed by the boys. She might be getting help.

A loud yell shook me from my thoughts. The redhaired man looked as if in pain. I saw the stake in Cristian's hand, piercing the man's chest.

"One lung down, another and a heart to go," Cristian said.

Dimitri was nowhere in sight. I turned my head, only to see him in the corner packing up something. He noticed me looking and began speaking.

"We can go now, fast. We can still be together, Celeste. Come with me."

"No," I responded. "I'm not leaving with you. Didn't you hear what Cristian said? He's not leaving without me, and I will not without him. I am a vampire. That drink won't change me at all."

Dimitri looked up at me, and he reminded me of a little boy looking at a toy in a toy store. Full of wonder, of want.

I didn't want to be with a little boy. I wanted to be with a man.

The redhaired man was on the floor now, three deep marks on the front of his shirt. He was dead.

Cristian approached Dimitri and grinned. "You gonna try and kill me now, Blue Boy? I'll give you ten seconds to tell me why I shouldn't murder you right now."

Dimitri's lips trembled. His leader was gone in his own headquarters. He could not possibly get out of this.

"Time's up." Cristian slammed the stake into Dimitri's chest, directly where his heart was.

Dimitri gasped again, only to fall face down onto the floor.

I stared at Cristian, whose face was still morphed angrily.

"Let's go," Cristian said. "I highly doubt anybody will go after us now."

FIN


	24. Epilogue

**With A Side Of Blood**

**Epilogue**

(**A/N**: Thank you for reading this story! I hope you enjoyed it. I enjoyed writing it for you all, and I hope to write more stories for you in the near future.

Sayonara for now, VampireKissesxoxoxo

P.S. This chapter is in nobody's point of view. Just an explanation of what happened to everybody.

P.P.S. Surely nobody wants a sequel to this. I assume not.)

* * *

**Vivacus**, **Gareth**, and **Emilio** were three of twenty-nine survivors at the dance. They and their dates managed to fend off the hunters and escape to Dracula's Castle, where they stayed for several hours until the fight ended.

**Vivacus**'s family is planning to relocate to a town in Canada and start a new life. But before they do that, they are going to distribute the flasks in the hopes that the rest of the vampires will be safe for years to come.

**Gareth** and his family are staying in Romania, but are teaching defense lessons.

**Emilio** is still in Romania, and currently working on his English and grammar. He hopes to attend a good college while majoring in English (if that's even possible for him, considering his grades).

**Sean**'s parents found out about his death, but figured that their son died for a good cause. They had a private funeral, with an urn containing the dust particles of him, as a way to say goodbye.

Dimitri's sister **Florentine** quit the Vampire Slayer's Society and began working at the Book Nook alongside Jason Hallaway. They eventually started going out and later got married.

The **rest of the Vampire Slayer's Society** left Romania, and have never been seen since.

**Vladimir Mitchell** was found tied to three poles in the cellar. When released, he ran back to his parents like a little boy (and in a way, he had every right to).

**Delia** and **Octavia**, two of many who were killed at the dance, were remembered at a big funeral for those who had fallen. **Delia**'s parents plan on making a statue of her, made completely of gold. Yawn.

**Celeste**'s parents, better known as **Alexander and Raven Sterling**, were immensely proud of her, and accepted Cristian into the family.

**Cristian**'s family accepted Celeste, and soon became quite attached to her.

**Cristian** and **Celeste**? They went out for a few months after that, until finally Cristian proposed in early March. They got married in late April, and are expecting a baby son in December.


End file.
